Issuu

VOL. 54, NO. 38 • JULY 4 - 10, 2019

Fireworks, Family Fun Take Center Stage in July 4th Celebrations

D.C. Auditor’s Report on Affordable Housing Raises Deep Concerns

Kamala Harris the Biggest Debate Winner, Pundits Say By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia Prior to the two days of the opening rounds of the Democratic presidential debates, Jeffrey Engel said the initial head-to-head of the candidates would in no way prove helpful in determining who should become the next U.S. president. “They are, however, going to help demonstrate who should not,” said Engel, the founding director of Southern Methodist University’s Center for Presidential History. “Between now and December, candidates will knock each other off, one by one, until the real fight begins when it’s down to the final four,” Engel said. The whittling appears to have already begun, at least according to pundits who tuned in to the two nights of debates that were held in Miami on June 26 and June 27. After two hours of questions, impromptu barbs and prepared talking points, a tentative picture has emerged of the initial winners and losers, Real Clear Politics reported, before exclaiming, “Kamala Harris has arrived.” Harris answered questions of whether she was up to the challenge as she pummeled front-runner Joe Biden about civil rights. She pushed the former vice president to explain his record on federal busing, which he opposed as a young senator from Delaware, and his association with segregationists,

DEBATE Page 32

NNPA Conference Page 16

By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia

A CAPITAL FOURTH RETURNS

D.C. Council members are responding to a new report released from the Office of the D.C. Auditor, which raises concerns about the integrity of the competitive application process for the city’s Housing Production Trust Fund (HPTF). The report found that the D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development

The nation’s capital prepares for July 4th celebrations as well as protests with Donald Trump’s decision to intrude upon annual expressions of American patriotism. (Roy Lewis/ The Washington Informer)

HOUSING Page 9

LGBTQ Equality: America’s Newest, Turbulent Civil Rights Frontier Thousands Flood NYC Streets, Mark Fifty Years Since Historic Stonewall Riots By D. Kevin McNeir WI Editor @dkevinmcneir Crowds took over New York’s Fifth Avenue for a festive parade, also gathering outside of the City’s historic Stonewall Inn on Sunday, June 30 to honor the 50th anniversary of a police-involved raid which resulted in scores of injured officers and patrons of the bar – and which marked a point of no return for gay and lesbian Americans, kicking off the modern-day LGBTQ movement. And while the tenor remained upbeat with the rainbow col-

ors of the Pride flag punctuating the scene, fear and apprehension continue to mount within the LGBTQ community as the Trump administration appears determined to undermine important, hard-fought advances. Examples to which many point as proof include: new restrictions on their presence and ability to serve in the military, proposed changes to recently-secured health care protections under the law and the retreat from federal directives which under President Obama granted

STONEWALL Page 38

5 The gay pride parade commemorating the 50th anniversary of the uprising at Stonewall Inn in New York City was held Sunday, June 30. The series of LGBTQ riots sparked by police raids are considered to be the catalyst that led to the gay liberation movement. (Hunter Abrams/Stonewall Community Foundation)

Celebrating 54 Years of Service / Serving More Than 50,000 Readers Throughout The Metropolitan Area

Now Published by Dr. Charles Vincent

Her Legacy Continues.

In memory of Mickey Thompson Vincent, Founder and Publisher.

Dr. Charles & “Mickey” Vincent

Tribute to the Ladies of Washington DC

Tribute to the Ladies of Washington DC who embody the spirit of Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth and Susan B. Anthony in their personal and professional lives. We, your men, thank you for your work and your love.(It goes without saying that this is just a partial list)

Lavern Chatman Brown, No. Va. Urban League & Links, Inc

Colleen E. Morris Madame Constable, Town of Oak Bluffs Massachsusetts Colleen E. Morris Madame Constable, Town of Oak Bluffs Massachsusetts

Camelia Mazard, Atty

Angela Moody, Pres. EDJ Associates

Patricia Chittams, DCGOP

Dr. Regina Benjamin, Surgeon General of the US Dr. Regina Benjamin, Surgeon General of the US

Adele Sadler Johnson, Attorney Adele Sadler Johnson, Attorney

Regina Dillard Ashby, Atty., State Farm Ins.

Dr. Janette Hoston Harris, Historian

Dr. Marilyn Tyler Brown, Educator

Kim Patterson

Dr. Janette Hoston Harris, Historian

Lynne T. McGuire, McGuire Funeral Services

Marya Pickering, Treasurer, DC GOP

Stacy Burnette, Dir. GOV Affairs, Comcast Cable Stacy Burnette, Dir. GOV Affairs, Comcast Cable

Julia Pollard, Arlington Links Julia Pollard, Arlington Links

Jill Homan, DCGOP, Natl. Committeewoman Jill Homan, DCGOP, Natl. Committeewoman

Chinyere Hubbard, VP Marketing, Events DC

Meta Williams, Owner, MetaWorks, DC

Kim Patterson

Teri Galvez, Paradigm Event Management

Lisa Slade, DDS (Endodontics)

Felicia Chambers, Atty, Past Pres. WBA

Dr. Gracie Lawson Borders, Dean and Professor, Howard University. Dr. Gracie Lawson Borders, Dean and Professor, Howard University.

Carolina Celnik, DC GOP Carolina Celnik, DC GOP

Meta Williams, Owner, MetaWorks, DC

Jan Du Plain, Du Plain Enterprises

Pam Galloway Tabb, sr. VP Newseum

Honorable Yvette Alexander

Kendra Handy (communications) with Mickey Thompson Kendra Handy (communications) with Mickey Thompson

Ashley Carter, Washington DC State Board of Education Ashley Carter, Washington DC State Board of Education

Gina Adams, VP, Govt. Aff. FedEx.

Carolyn Trice, Innovative Results

Roberta Wright, Attorney

Karen Evans, Pres. Wash Bar Assoc.

Denise Rolark Barnes, Publisher, The Washington Informer, Denise Rolark Barnes, Publisher, The Washington Informer,

Beverly Perry, Atty and Sr. Advisor to Mayor Bowser Beverly Perry, Atty and Sr. Advisor to Mayor Bowser

Crystal Wright, Author and Blogger “Conservative Black Chick” Crystal Wright, Author and Blogger “Conservative Black Chick”

Social Sightings - THE MAGAZINE Subscribe www.SocialSightings.com

Natalie Fant, CEO Strategic Business Solutions

Judith Batty, Atty, Bd Chr Arena Stage

Patricia Hobson Wilson

Debbie Jarvis, PEPCO

Darlene Glymph, VP DCGOP, Veteran Services Darlene Glymph, VP DCGOP, Veteran Services

Dr. Alma Hobbs, Professor Dr. Alma Hobbs, Professor

Evelyn Betancourt, Sheehy Ford of Marlow Heights Evelyn Betancourt, Sheehy Ford of Marlow Heights

Kendra Handy/Editor Dr. Charles Vincent/Photographer Brian Young/Graphic Designer l

Social Sightings-The Column is published in the Hill Rag, DC Mid-City, East of the River Journals, The Washington Informer Newspaper and in the Fairfax, Alexandria, Arlingnton, Loudoun Woman Magazines

2 JULY 4 - 10, 2019

THE WASHINGTON INFORMER / WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM

Around the Region............ 4-11 PG County....................... 12-13 Business............................ 14-15 National............................ 16-17 International.........................18

Apollo Theater Shines

Health ............................. 20-21 Education .......................23-24

Lifestyle / Page 28

OpEd................................ 25-27 Lifestyle..........................28-35 Sports .............................36-37 Religion................................. 39

Computer Science

Prince Georges County / Page 13

On July 5, 1975 Arthur Ashe d efeats defending Wimbledon champion Jimmy Connors, becoming the first African-American man to win the singles title in the tournament. Black Facts / Page 6

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around the region

SOMETHING NEW EVERYDAY www.washingtoninformer.com Visit our updated Web site and give us your comments for a chance to win a gift from The Washington Informer

Women the Cycle of wi hotBreak topics Domestic Violence Daughters of the AmeriNew Laws in Effect on

COMPILED BY D. KEVIN MCNEIR,WI EDITOR,WILLIAM J. FORD,WI STAFF WRITER AND OLIVIA BOYD,WI INTERN

can Revolution Welcome enforcement. She said they threat,” she said. Drugs, Wages andlawAlcohad come together to bring a Among the programs Marlow Black itsimplemented Boardare hol Consumption sense in DMV of uniformity First in the way wants to to see

By Tia Carol Jones WI Staff Writer

When L.Y. Marlow's 23-year- domestic violence victims and stricter restraining order policies, New legislation became effective Monday, July often-criticized history of exclusion, old daughter told her the father survivors are treated. After a long and more rights for victim's families 1 which impacts the process involving those with the Daughters of the American Revolution [DAR], of her daughter threatened her “She's using her own personal to intervene on behalf of a vicdriver’s thetheir pricechild, of drinks during hapfounded in 1890, has invited a Black woman to belife, and licenses, the life of story, her own personal pain to tim, a domestic violence assesspy-hours the minimum residents and come a memberment of its unit boardcoupled – severalwith decades after she knew and something had to wage be for push forward,” Davis-Nickens further the workers in the DMV. In D.C., new taxes are in Karen Batchelor, 68, joined the done. Out of her frustration said about Marlow. first Black woman, training for law now enforcement placelaw forenforcement's employers as handling well as fines for businesses with organization Theamove reflects current Davis-Nickens said anyone in 1977. agencies, Child's Lifemore ProtecEmail comments to: use decided plastic straws. Maryland ofthat thecontinue situation,toshe to who encouraged of color to become reads has Marlow'sefforts bookthat willhave tion Act andwomen mandatory counsellaunched efforts to reduce camprescription costs,said she rburke@ start the Saving Promise involved. “get drug it.” She “puts the ing for batterers. banned plastic food containers and foam cups and paign. case in such a way, theIt’saverage a milestone, says Wilhelmena Rhodes “If we are ever going toKelly, eradi-72, a washingtoninformer.com has University the can rightgettoit.” She “Itgranted seems toJohn be aHopkins vicious cycle person said atoftheNewcate we must resident Yorkdomestic City, whoviolence, joined DAR in 2004 form won't its own turn police my force.family end of the day, theafter that book will look both sidesto of the coin. successfully tracingather lineage a white Virginian In Virginia, citizens now benefit from loose,” Marlow627,000 said. Marlow help people begin towho havedonated a dia- supplies We need to address both victo Revolutionary Warthe efforts. legislation that has shared her story withreinstated the audi-licenses loguepreviously about domestic violence. andto the batterer,” Marlow “The push is tim largely encourage people to realize suspended to nonpayment fines – also at thetheir ence at thedueDistrict Heightsof court Also present event said. and contributions to American ownwas foundations prohibiting in the future the suspension of licenses Domestic Violence Symposium Mildred Muhammad, the she ex-said. Marlow would also like to see history,” on May at theunable District held by7those to Heights pay court those wife fines. of John Allen Muhammad, programs designed to raiserepuThe lineage-based group, with a longstanding Municipal Center. The sympoVA Governor Ralph Northamwho (D)was called the sentenced totation six consecawareness among installed childrenKelly in last as a bastion of white privilege, sium sponsored by unfairly the utive formerwas practice one which punished the without life terms parole public and private schools. She weekend as head of their New York chapter. She also beFamily Services a Maryland–jury for his role poor andand kept Youth them from securing by employment feels children need to be educatcomes the in first Black woman on its national governing Center of thewith citywhich of District the agree, Beltway attacks in ed about domestic violence. a perspective many others evenSniper board. With 185,000 members, DAR remains open to Heights Hook-law 2002. Mildred Muhammad is can verify “Wethat have to descended stop beingfrom pas-those adding and thatthe theNational now defunct disproportionwomen who they’re Up of impacted Black Women. Trauma, sive-aggressive with poor chilately people of color. Alsotheinfounder Virginia,ofaAfter the who helped the revolutionary cause between the Battle of Marlow has written an organization helps the dren about domestic violence,” new law makes it easier aforbook, gay, straight and single thatLexington in 1775 and the withdrawal of British troops “Color Butterfly,” which is a survivors violence Marlow said. parentsMe to have children via donated embryos.ofThedomestic in 1783. More than 5,000 Black soldiers fought for the story about four generations of announcements and their children. Marlow has worked to break Commonwealth has also allowed U.S. but for most of their history, the DAR was entirely domestic violence. bookand is restaurants “I livedduring in fear for six years. Six the cycle of abuse in her family, of discounted pricesThe in bars inspired by hertoown years in fearAdis a longcomposed time. It of is whites. and is confident the policies she happy-hours be experiences, advertised to the public. and those of her grandmother, not an easy thing to come out is pushing for will start that ditionally, the legal age to purchase tobacco and her mother and in herVirginia daughter. of,” from she said. process. vaping products has risen 18 to She said every time she reads Mildred Muhammad said “I plan to take these policies to 21 – with an exception given to active members of In Memoriam excerpts from her book, she still people who want to help a Congress and implore them to the military. Dr. Calvin W. Rolark, Sr. can not believe the words came domestic violence victim must change our laws,” Marlow said. Wilhelmina J. Rolark The District minimum wage has increased to from her. “Color Me Butterfly” be careful of how they go into “I will not stop until these poli$14 with required to pay tipped workers The Washington Informer Newspaper won the employers 2007 National “Best the victim's life, and understand cies are passed.” at least $4.45/hour and to make up the difference THE WASHINGTON INFORMER theJones Prince County PUBLISHER In Memoriam Books” Award. that she may be in Monica “survivalGoldson Tiaand Carol canGeorge’s be reached NEWSPAPER (ISSN#0741-9414) is if“Igratuities fall short of the minimum wage. In Dr. Calvin W. Rolark, school system have agreed to a $302,000, four-year Denise RolarkSr. Barnes was just 16-years-old when mode”. at tiacaroljones@sbcglobal.net published weekly on each Thursday. Wilhelmina J. Rolark 2020, goes up and to $15, in-get to contract; she now oversees Maryland’s biggest public my eye the firstrate blackened my automatically Periodicals postage paid at Washing“Before you 'I'm going creasing inflation STAFF ton, THE D.C.WASHINGTON and additional mailing ofsystem, alsoWI the 25th largest in the U.S. The salaINFORMER NEWSPAPER (ISSN#0741-9414) is published lips bled,”with Marlow said.after that. to kill you,' it startedschool as a verbal fices.weekly News on andThursday. advertising deadline postage D. Kevin Editor Periodicals paid atMcNeir, Washington, D.C. and additional ry ranks among the top school district superintendents Elaine Davis-Nickens, presiis Monday to News publication. Anmailing prior offices. and advertising Monday prior to publication. Rondeadline Burke,isAdvertising/ Marketing Director in the state – higher than neighboring Montgomery dent of the National Hook-Up nouncements must be received two two weeks prior to event. Copyright 2000 by The Announcements must be received Shevry Lassiter, Photo Editor County Superintendent Jack Morris’s $290,000 whose of Black Women, said there is no weeks prior to event. Copyright 2016 Washington Informer. All rights reserved. POST Barnes, MASTER:IV, Send changePhoto of addressLafayette Assistant Editor by es The Washington Informer. consistency in the way domestic to The Washington Informer,All3117 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., S.E. Washington, jurisdiction has the largest student population of about John E. De Freitas, Sports Photo Editor rightsD.C. reserved. 20032.POSTMASTER: No part of thisSend publication may be reproduced without written permisviolence issues are dealt with by 162,280. Prince George’s, with more than 133,000 change addresses to TheThe WashDorothy Rowley, Online Editorthe return of sionoffrom the publisher. Informer Newspaper cannot guarantee students, labels its school leader as chief executive offiington Informer, 3117 Martin Luther ZebraDesigns.net, Design & will Layout photographs. Subscription rates are $30 per year, two years $45. Papers be received King,notJr.more Ave.,than S.E.a Washington, D.C. cer – its board unanimously approved Goldson’s conweek after publication. Make checks payable to: Mable Neville, Bookkeeper 20032. No part of this publication may The US Supreme Court recently stopped the Trump tract. Dr. Charles Vincent, Social Sightings columnist be reproduced without written permisTHE WASHINGTON INFORMER administration from including a question on the “I think she has done a lot of good things,” said Tatiana Moten, Social Media Specialist sion from the3117 publisher. The Informer Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., S.E. • Washington, D.C. 20032 2020 census form about citizenship, saying the addiAngie Johnson, Circulation Newspaper cannot guarantee the return school board member Belinda Queen. “We are still Phone: 202 561-4100 • Fax: 202 574-3785 of photographs. Subscription rates are tion “appears to have been contrived.” worried about test scores, school-to-prison pipeline E-mail: news@washingtoninformer.com $45 per year, two years $60. Papers will Melanie Campbell, president/CEO of the NationREPORTERS www.washingtoninformer.com and equity in our schools. Those are things that we be received not more than a week after Stacy Brown (Senior Writer), Sam P.K. Collins, al Coalition on Black Civic Participation, also the need to focus on.” publication. Make checks payable to: Timothy Cox, Will Ford (Prince George’s convener of the Black Women’s Roundtable, agrees, PUBLISHER The contract, which allows the board to conduct an County adding, “In 2010, African Americans and Black imTHE WASHINGTON INFORMER Denise Rolark Writer), Barnes Jacqueline Fuller, Hamil evaluation to offer a raise based on school performance 3117 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., S.E Harris, D. Kevin McNeir, Dorothy Rowley, migrants were undercounted by more than 800,000, STAFF REPORTERS and other factors, expires June 30, 2023. And while Washington, D.C. 20032 Sarafina Wright, leaving our communities with a shortage of governBrooke N. Garner Managing Brenda Editor Siler, Tia C. Jones, Ed Laiscell,James Wright Phone: 202 561-4100 former CEO Kevin Maxwell helped to incorporate Carla Peay Assistant Managing PHOTOGRAPHERS Editor Odell B. Ruffin, Larry Saxton, ment resources. We cannot let this happen again.” Fax: 202 574-3785 the D.C. region’s biggest arts integration programs, Ron Burke Advertising and Marketing Mary Wells, Joseph Young Trump now says he may delay census printing until John E. DeFreitas, Shevry Lassiter, news@washingtoninformer.com Mable Whittaker Bookkeeper his tenure included allegations of grade inflations, pay www.washingtoninformer.com October in order to secure more time for further Roy Lewis,PHOTOGRAPHERS Jr., Anthony Tilghman, Brigette LaNita Wrenn Administration raises for employees in central office and tense relationlegal proceedings. The ruling temporarily complicates John E. De Freitas Sports White Editor Lafayette Barnes, IV, ships with some school board members. County ExVictor Holt Photo Editor John E. De Freitas, Maurice Fitzgerald, things for the Trump administration but does not bar Zebra Designs, Inc. Layout & Graphic Design Joanne Jackson, Roy Lewis, Robert ecutive Angela Alsobrooks calls the appointment “an the question entirely, allowing Trump to offer justifiINTERNS: Ken Harris /www.scsworks.com Webmaster Ridley, Victor Holt easy choice” among a national search of 20 candidates. cation to include the question. Tedarius Abrams, Penelope Blackwell, L.Y. Marlow Goldson brings 28 years of experience as a teacher, Mayor Bowser said, “We will continue urging the Olivia Boyd, Elae Hill, Sharon Washington CIRCULATION Paul Trantham math instructional specialist, assistant principal and federal government to keep a citizenship question off the census and keep the focus where it should the founding principal at Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr. High be – getting every person in our nation counted and School in Upper Marlboro. The Potomac High School getting our cities and towns the resources they need graduate also became the first woman from Prince to build stronger communities.” George’s to serve as the school system’s leader. 4 / May 15 - 21, 2008 The Washington Informer / www.washingtoninformer.com

Goldson Signs $302K Contract as Prince George’s Schools CEO

“

Supreme Court Blocks Trump’s Census Citizenship We have to stop being Question, for Now

passive-aggressive with poor children about domestic violence. I plan to take these policies to Congress and implore them to change our laws. I will not stop until these policies are passed.

“

4 JULY 4 - 10, 2019

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AROUND THE REGION Councilmember White Floats Bill to Help At-Risk Schools East of the River By James Wright WI Staff Writer D.C. Council member Trayon White (D-Ward 8) introduced legislation last week that would change the school funding formula for public schools, primarily located in Wards 7 and 8, that serve a high percentage of at-risk students. White’s bill — The Critical Risk Rate School Funding Designation Act of 2019 — schools that have at-risk student populations at the level of 70 percent, would be able to secure a higher rate of funding from city. Under the proposed fiscal 2020 budget, 31 schools faced spending reductions, with 20 schools facing cutbacks of five percent or more. White had success in convincing his council colleagues to forward $5.353 million to the 31 schools but acknowledged that more needs to be done. “We need adequate funding for critical needs,” White, who

represented his ward on the D.C. State Board of Education from January 2012 to March 2014, said in in a June 24 conference call. “Ward 8 has the largest number of at-risk students in the city.” White noted 18 of the affected schools are in Ward 8 while neighboring Ward 7 had 14. He also said that while Anacostia High School’s enrollment has increased, “Ballou has less than 500 students.” Council members Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 1) and Robert White (D-At Large) co-introduced the measure with White, who said fellow council members David Grosso (I-At Large) and Anita Bonds (D-At Large) also support the bill. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) referred White’s bill to the Committee on Education, chaired by Grosso, and the Committee of the Whole, which Mendelson leads. WI FROM

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AROUND THE REGION

black facts

JULY 4 - 10, 2019 SOURCE: BLACK AMERICA WEB

JULY 4

Williams successfully defended her title, knocking off 1881 – Tuskegee University is founded in Tuske- Justine Henin in the finals. gee, Alabama. 1910 – Jack Johnson, the first Black heavyJULY 9 weight champion, defends his title by knocking out 1901 – Actor and “The Great White Hope,” Jim Jeffries, in Nevada. composer Jester 1938 – Singer-songwriter Bill Withers is born in Hairston of “Amos Slab Fork, West Virginia. ‘n’ Andy” and “Amen” fame, is born in Belews Creek, North JULY 5 1975 – Arthur Ashe defeats defending Wimble- Carolina. don champion Jimmy Connors, becoming the first African-American man to win the singles title in the tournament.

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1875 – Civil rights luminary Mary McLeod Bethune is JULY 6 born in Mayesville, 1957 – Tennis star Althea Gibson became the first Black tennis player to win Wimbledon, defeat- South Carolina. 1893 – Dr. Daniel Hale Williams performs the ing fellow American Darlene Hard in straight sets. world’s first open-heart surgery at Provident Hospital 1971 – Legendary jazz trumpeter Louis in Chicago on a man stabbed in the chest. “Satchmo”Armstrong dies of a heart attack in New 1941 – Iconic ragtime and jazz pianist Jelly Roll York City. Morton dies in Los Angeles at the age of 50. 1979 – Musician and D.C. native Van McCoy, 1943 – Tennis great Arthur Ashe is born in Richbest known for his 1975 smash “The Hustle,” dies mond, Virginia. in Englewood, New Jersey. 1973 – The Bahamas is declared a fully independent nation. JULY 7 WI 1913 – Negro leagues baseball legend Leroy “Satchel” Paige is born in Mobile, Alabama. 1913 – Blues pianist Pinetop Perkins is born in Belzoni, Mississippi. 1915 – American poet and writer Margaret Walker, author of “Jubilee,” is born in Birmingham, Alabama. 1972 – Hall of Fame basketball player Lisa Leslie, the first player to dunk in a WNBA game, is born in Gardena, California.

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1908 – Swing-era bandleader and musician Louis Jordan, “The King of the Jukebox,” is born in Brinkley, Arkansas. 1914 – Famed jazz singer Billy Eckstine is born in Pittsburgh. 2000 – Tennis legend Venus Williams defeats Lindsay Davenport to win the Wimbledon women’s singles championship, the first Black woman to do so since Althea Gibson in 1958. Exactly a year later,

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AROUND THE REGION

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Iconic radio personality Tom Joyner is set to retire at the end of the year, with comedian Rickey Smiley tapped to succeed him. What are your thoughts on Joyner passing the baton?

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I am confused by the “taking over” aspect of this. Rickey already has a show and once he takes over Tom’s show, it will have a new name. Why not just end [Joyner’s show] when Tom retires and simply expand Rickey’s radio markets? Perhaps it’s not that simple.

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RHONDA BENJAMIN BLAND / NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANNA

Tom will be missed! Not sure he can be replaced. He was an advocate and educated our community on so many issues. He was fun as well. I will give Rickey a try once Tom has retired. Hope he keeps the “party with a purpose” mentality of the show.

HASSAN AL-AMIN / WASHINGTON, D.C.

I hope he stays with the same programs such as keeping the audience informed about our issues.

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AROUND THE REGION The World According to Dominic BY D. KEVIN MCNEIR / WI EDITOR / @DKEVINMCNEIR

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While listening to the R&B classic “Someday We’ll All Be Free,” sung by Donny Hathaway and written by his friend Edward Howard about the dark cloud of paranoid schizophrenia that had engulfed Hathaway and which undoubtedly led to the singer eventually taking his own life, I was once again reminded of the infinite potential and impact that music can have upon the human experience. The song, released in 1973 with lukewarm response, has since become an anthem of sorts for Black civil rights, retooled and reinterpreted by some of the industry’s best – from Alicia Keys and James Ingram to Bobby Womack and Take 6 – even Aretha Franklin who introduced the tune’s haunting lyrics to an entirely new generation in 1992 in its employ as the footnote to Spike Lee’s powerful biographical film, “Malcolm X.” But other Americans, specifically those living under the LGBTQ umbrella who today face similar struggles for justice and equality that have eluded Blacks since our arrival on these shores in 1619, contend that their quest, while reflective of the albatross that continues to weigh down and hold back African Americans, is often dismissed

as a sickness of liberal American society, criticized for being a personal “life choice” instead of many deem to be an inescapable journey of the heart. What interests me most is how we, flawed men and women, feel so entitled and enlightened that we can determine what is fitting, proper, appropriate and acceptable for mankind. What is it that makes some assert themselves as self-professed arbiters of both whom we should love and how we exhibit that love? And why do some forms of intimacy, while counter to societal norms, matter so much to those who by choice or by nurture acquiesce to the status quo? Over the past weekend, hundreds of thousands of members and supporters of the LGBTQ community filled the streets of New York and other cities nationwide to mark the 50th anniversary of the historic Stonewall uprising – the police-involved raid in the Big Apple that sparked the modern-day gay rights movement. Fifty years have passed, yet here in the DMV and across the U.S., news of gay bashing, murders of transgender, gays and lesbians, bullying of questioning youth leading to suicide and other related hate crimes and verbal assaults occur with such frequently that they tend to be received more like early morning weather reports than the heinous attacks which they truly are – deeds based solely on the sexual orientation and identification of those unfortunate victims. I suppose I can understand how generations shaped by firmly-entrenched, legally-supported white

privilege has caused white folk in the 21st century to feel justified whenever they accost, demoralize, or initiate the destruction of their LGBTQ brothers and sisters in ways reminiscent to how they have long belittled and oppressed African Americans. But Blacks – we who can easily recount family histories or documented tales which document thousands of examples of lynching, beatings, murders and rapes suffered by our ancestors for no other reason than the color of our skin, the thickness of our lips or the texture of our hair? We should have a mindset far from that of “Mr. Charlie.” We should have hearts filled with compassion, not overflowing with hatred. We should understand that while we may disapprove of the how gays or lesbians exhibit love, to single them out as justifiable targets simply mimics the atrocities to which our ancestors of yesterday and our brothers and sisters of today, have been and are still forced to bear. I may be unable to unequivocally tell you what Jesus would say but I know what Jesus would do – or rather, not do or condone as he instructed in one unforgettable parable, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” With that, I return to Hathaway’s serenade and the hope for a brighter and better tomorrow – a new reality for the beloved community. If we do not destroy our world, if we act before it’s too late, maybe, just maybe, “someday we’ll all be free.” WI

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HOUSING from Page 1 (DHCD) often deviated from its own scoring system to select lower-ranked projects for the fund, which provides critical gap financing to developers of affordable housing. “Transparency around how we spend taxpayer dollars — especially dollars dedicated to increasing our affordable housing stock — is essential” said Councilwoman Elissa Silverman (I-AtLarge) in a press release. “How is it a competitive process if you ignore the scoring when awarding dollars? “The auditor’s findings raise troubling red flags about why these projects received money,” she said. Silverman said concerns about how trust fund dollars have been awarded prompted her to introduce the Housing Production Trust Fund Transparency Act, which would require DHCD to release the scoring of applicants to the fund. DHCD has refused to provide information on how trust fund applicants were assessed and selected for funding despite requests from both the council and the auditor, Silverman said. Five out of nine proposals awarded HPTF money last year were ranked by District staff evaluators in the bottom half of applications and their selection meant a loss of 353 affordable housing units and 95 units designed for the poorest District households, according to the new report by the Office of the D.C. Auditor (ODCA). The report said the procurement decisions last year raise red flags about the procedures followed at the DHCD, show a lack of “commitment to program integrity” and a need for “greater controls and transparency.” D.C. Auditor Kathy Patterson recommended Council action to require written justification when the agency director overrides recommendations made by staff evaluators following their lengthy and deliberative scoring process, according to a release from ODCA. The report’s findings came initially from confidential documents provided to ODCA, but the evaluation information was corroborated by ODCA as genuine DHCD products. Efforts to get the documents directly from DHCD were rebuffed in a series of letters that led to issuance of a subpoena by the auditor, ODCA said.

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866-771-1642 5 Rhode Island Row is billed as an economically viable development that provides affordable housing for very low-income and workforce households. (Courtesy of Rhode Island Row)

Silverman said concerns about how trust fund dollars have been awarded prompted her to introduce the Housing Production Trust Fund Transparency Act, which would require DHCD to release the scoring of applicants to the fund. The final letter in a series, included as an appendix to the report, informed DHCD that the auditor would not seek to enforce the subpoena because the information had been corroborated by other means, officials said. “We are aware that the Council is considering legislation to require greater transparency in the decisions made by DHCD in awarding HPTF projects and believe the pending legislation must be strengthened to provide greater assurance that our affordable housing goals can be achieved,” Patterson said in the news release. The five higher-ranked projects with more total units and more units for poorer households that were not chosen last year did receive HPTF awards in March of this year, Patterson said.

The report also comes at a time when other concerns about affordable housing in the District have reached a critical point. “There has been a growing concern about the lack of affordable housing for larger families in D.C., which is why I prioritized funding study — so we have the data to make informed policy decisions,” said Councilman Kenyan R. McDuffie (D-Ward 5), who chairs the council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development. As for HPTF, since its inception, the trust fund has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in affordable housing projects. The fund reportedly will have $116 million in the fiscal 2020 budget. The auditor’s report, titled “LowRanked Secure Affordable Housing Funds,” also raises concerns about whether the District has developed less affordable housing units due to the selection process, Silverman said. “The method/procedures by which DHCD management selected nine projects for the Fall 2017 Request for Proposal awards of $103 million, $78 million of which was HPTF funding, raises serious questions about the effectiveness and transparency of DHCD’s selection process,” Silverman said. “Between staff recommendations and the final selection by the director there was a net loss of 353 affordable units, including a reduction by 95 units of those targeting the District’s most vulnerable households earning up to 30 percent of the Area Median Income,” she said. WI

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Who’s Reading the Informer? Asma Naeem and Keith Calhoun look over the Washington Informer while attending the opening of an exhibit on slavery at the Baltimore Museum of Art. (Roy Lewis/The Washington Informer)

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– Arthur Ashe First Black to win Men’s Singles, Wimbledon and U.S. Open, born July 10, 1943

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AROUND THE REGION

Md. Black Entrepreneurs Want More State Contracts

By James Wright WI Staff Writer

As Black entrepreneurs in the District seek more contracts from the city government, their Maryland colleagues want the same thing as they deal with similar issues of access and opportunity. The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) houses the Office of Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) and serves as the official certification agency for entrepreneurs who wish to do business with the Free State. In addition, MDOT manages the Disadvantage Business Enterprise (DBE), Airport Concessions Disadvantaged Business Enterprise and the Small Business Enterprise programs. Maryland appears to be a state where Black businesses have a chance to prosper. A 2018 survey by the firm Paychex found that Maryland has the highest per capita people of color and women-owned business ownership in the country, with nearly 42 minority owners per 100,000 residents and 17.5 women-owned businesses per 100,000. The survey found Prince

George’s County had four of the five ranked communities in order of business ownership diversity — Capitol Heights, Beltsville, Brentwood and Bowie. However, while it appears that Maryland has an active program for minority entrepreneurs to get contracts and counties such as Prince George’s have initiatives with that goal also, problems persist in areas such as capacity to handle large or even small projects, financing and fair bidding opportunities. Nevertheless, David Harrington, president and CEO of the Prince George’s County Chamber of Commerce, said county leaders are in helping Black businesses procure contracts. “We want to make sure that Black businesses get as much work as possible,” Harrington said. “We are constantly working on this. There is a great deal of bureaucracy in procuring government work and we need to untangle all of the bureaucracy to see that Black businesses get their fair share of this robust economy.” The problem isn’t just in

Prince George’s County. Calvin Mims, president and CEO of Calmi Electrical Company in Baltimore and an active member of the President’s Roundtable, an organization of Black-owned businesses in the Baltimore metropolitan area, said he has problems getting contracts. “I have been in business for 33 years and still to this day I am not solicited for work in the private sector unless it is tied to the state mandate that there must be MBE participation in a project,” Mims said. “I have letters of exemplary work from companies such as Whiting-Turner but still, I can only get work when the project is mandated to have a MBE company as a subcontractor.” Despite issues of contracting, Mims and Michael Smith, a District business owner, have dealt with MDOT and praise its MBE program.

“MDOT takes the time to work with businesses who are seeking certification and they are good and professional at what they do,” Smith said. “MDOT has a great program and I have no qualms with it. MDOT monitors their program and when there is an issues, they address it.” Some Black entrepreneurs want the District government to conduct a disparity study to show how many Black businesses are getting government contracts. In Maryland, such studies are done on a regular basis, the last one conducted in 2017, said Maryland Del. Jazz Lewis (D-District 24). Lewis explained that in 1989, the U.S. Supreme Court held in the City of Richmond vs. J.A. Croson Co. that state and local MBA programs are allowed un-

CONTRACTS Page 30

5 Maryland Del. Jazz Lewis represents District 24 in Prince George’s County. (Courtesy photo)

Join the growing movement of descendants of slaves arguing/declaring for their rightful reparations Join the Reparations Study Group for important lobbying and educational sessions The next Session Will Occur on Thursday July 11, 2019 from 7pm – 8:30pm On Capitol Hill at 403 7th Street, Southeast, Washington D.C. 20003 • Learn How to make Reparations (HR 40) a legislative reality particularly among Black Lawmakers • Learn how to effectively educate and empower yourself and your community • Gain Insights on networking and collaborating with like-minded activists - Gain insight on making government work for you from: - Legislative experts - Community activists

Mark your calendar to come and bring friends and family to this meeting at a convenient Capitol Hill location @ 7th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue Steps from Eastern Market Subway and bus Stop Call (202) 547-4125 for RSVP and inquires WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM / THE WASHINGTON INFORMER

JULY 4 - 10, 2019 11

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY Md. Group Seeks Solutions in Child Court Proceedings By William J. Ford WI Staff Writer @jabariwill ANNAPOLIS — Hope M. Wylie wrote a book to explain and detail her experiences as a domestic violence survivor. Wylie, a pseudonym to protect her identity, summarized her tumultuous 14½-year relationship with her ex-husband, who brandished loaded guns and used broomsticks and fists to express his feelings. Although Wylie only appeared in criminal court for three hearings in about four years, she went to 63 family court hearings during that same period in order to obtain custody of their children. “Sixty-three times I had to go to court in four years in order to protect three children. I think that’s too many times,” she said. “I was in a different jurisdiction than the state of Maryland, but I think a lot of the things that I

encountered through the court system are probably encountered in Maryland as well.” Wylie, whose book is titled “Resurrected Hope: The Memoir of a Domestic Violence Survivor,” testified June 25 before a committee slated to provide recommendations and improve Maryland’s court proceedings that involve allegations of domestic violence and child abuse. The group, chaired by state Secretary John C. Wobensmith, was established through a bill passed in this year’s General Assembly to assess how state courts process allegations of child abuse and domestic violence and analyze scientific research of children in traumatic situations. Joan Meier, professor of clinical law at George Washington University Law School in Northwest, led a nationwide study of 2,000 court cases between 2005 and 2015 that showed courts either granted split or full child custody

5 A group of Maryland lawmakers and officials and child advocates meet in Annapolis to discuss recommendations on improving the state’s court system during child custody proceedings. (William J. Ford/The Washington Informer.

to an abusive father when a mother claimed — and, in some cases, proved — domestic violence abuse against her. The study shows mothers lost about 43 percent of child custody cases against fathers, even when abuse was proven in some cases. Fathers often counter with claims of parental alienation, or when a mother allegedly tries to isolate or separate a child from a parent through words and actions. Another problem in the court system, Meier said, comes from the testimony of mothers and children. “Courts are very reluctant to believe child abuse. Courts are very reluctant to restrict fathers’ rights and access,” said Meier, who’s also the legal director of the Domestic

Violence Legal Empowerment & Appeals Project. “They want to divide the children 50-50. They want everybody to be at least a cooperative family. I don’t know if many judges would say they have an agenda, but I think many former judges would say no question that agenda exist.” When the work group meets again this month, it may receive information on specific cases in Maryland. Based on Meier’s presentation, Del. Vanessa Atterbeary (D-Howard County) said judicial and implicit bias training for court staff may be needed, especially with allegations of child abuse. “The goal of the work group is to get empirical data to see if we do need to make some changes

related to how custody cases are treated when there are allegations of abuse and sexual abuse of the child,” she said. “It’s really a finite goal, but … is very important.” Wylie said she may attend all the meetings prior to the group’s final report to lawmakers and Gov. Larry Hogan by Dec. 1, one month before the General Assembly reconvenes Jan. 8. In the meantime, Wylie has a simple message to lawmakers, child advocates, health care professionals, law enforcement and judges to decrease domestic violence and child abuse. “I ask that you continue to blow the trumpet and to sound the alarm — this is an epidemic,” she said. WI

Maryland Seeks to Provide Marijuana Education By William J. Ford WI Staff Writer @jabariwill

5 The Marijuana Legalization Workgroup holds its first session in Annapolis on June 25. (William J. Ford/The Washington Informer)

12 JULY 4 - 10, 2019

For those interested in the medical profession with a specific focus on cannabis, come to Maryland, According to a draft proposal from the state’s Medical Cannabis Commission, higher education institutions, medical operations or an affiliated biomedical research firm can conduct projects “relating to the health effects, medical uses, properties, or composition of medical cannabis.” However, they must pay a $1,000 registration fee and a $500 renewal fee for each subsequent modified research project. William C. Tilburg, director of policy and government affairs for the commission, said the fees, not tax-

payer dollars, fund the agency. Plus, he said, “this is already law. We have to do this.” Gov. Larry Hogan signed into law legislation that not only allows a representative to conduct specific cannabis research, but also for certain licensed processors to transport, package, sell and distribute to a dispensary “edible cannabis products for use by a qualifying patient or caregiver.” The proposed policy also requires a representative register with the commission and submit to fingerprinting and a criminal background check. If convicted of a drug felony offense, that person may not receive approval to participate in a cannabis project. The policy remains separate from the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy’s graduate level course

this fall to study, research and analyze cannabis. According to a course description labeled as the first in the nation dedicated to medical cannabis studies, students will focus on basic science, clinical use, adverse effects and public health and federal and state laws and policies. Candidates have until Aug. 15 to apply for the course mainly offered online, but some classwork will be at the school’s Montgomery County campus in Rockville. Meanwhile, an 18-member task force of state senators and delegates plan to hold a second meeting this month in Annapolis to assess the legalization of marijuana in the state. The task force will determine whether to legalize recreational mar-

MARIJUANA Page 44

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PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY

Univ. of Md. Computer Science Camp Inspires Girls

By William J. Ford WI Staff Writer @jabariwill Alexis Esuke hung around her mother so much she learned to make soap, body spray and lotions. Her twin sister, Mikaila, used to spread Lego blocks across the basement floor and built structures within two hours. The 17-year-old twins’ love of science helped them become co-valedictorians at Bowie High School’s graduation in May, as well as take them to the University of Maryland in College Park this fall. Alexis will study chemical engineering and Mikaila mechanical engineering. “I called my mom and was, like, ‘Mom, guess what? We’re co-valedictorians,” Alexis Esuke recalled after they were called into the principal’s office. Besides praising their parents who have no backgrounds in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), the teens also credit the CompSciConnect summer camp, a science initiative at the university. The three-year program seeks to diversify the computer science field by incorporating more minority representation. The twins enrolled in the program while in elementary school and later became teaching assistants to assist campers who complete various projects tasks such as coding, web development, robotics and cybersecurity. The Esukes worked with several girls Friday, June 28, teaching them binary code by using colorful beads. Makaila stood behind Hannah DeHarde, 13, as she played a driving game equipped with a car, cacti, green terrain and a huge cat. Hannah, a eighth-grader who attends Newport Mill Middle School in Kensington, worked with a partner to produce the game environment with Unity 3D and programmed the objects with a program known as C Sharp. To ensure students such as Hannah don’t lose their skills, they also meet once a month throughout the school year and conduct two showcases on campus — one in the fall and another in the spring on “Maryland Day.” “In the first year, we learned intro to binary. I still love binary,”said Hannah, who plans to return next year as a teaching assistant after she completes her third and final year this summer. “It’s good to have the

ambassadors because they really, really help [the campers].” One of those ambassadors, Utsa Santhosh, was among the first campers when the program began seven years ago. Unlike the Esukes, Santhosh’s parents are software engineers. “I knew growing up that I didn’t want to do what they’re doing, but now I’m doing what they’re doing,” said Santhosh, 18, a sophomore and computer science major. Santhosh, who is of Indian descent, graduated from high school in Howard County. She enthusiastically tells campers about her experience to encourage other girls that science can influence everyday life. “They use computer science in recording studios. Half these rappers have apps,” she said. “You can use computer science … and apply it to so many different fields.” CompSciConnect remains one of several camps through the Maryland Center for Women in Computing (MCWIC) housed at the Brendan Iribe Center for Computer Science and Engineering, which opened this year. Jan Plane, director of the center and an undergraduate cybersecurity professor, helped push last year for legislation that Gov. Larry Hogan signed into law to expand computer science education. The $5 million initiative requires every high school to offer at least one computer science course by 2021. Plane said the bill was important because of the lack of computer science classes in the schools and lack of experienced teachers in the field. “Computer science is one of the fields that has the worst representation as far as gender and race,” she said. “The more we allow them to get exposed to computing, the more likely they will choose to do it. Even if they don’t choose to do it, they will know what it is and mix it in to whatever area they are interested in.” The Esukes learned more about computer science outside their high school through camp connect and a dual enrollment course at Bowie State University. Even with the lack of gender and minority representation, it doesn’t bother the twins. “It’s something that you notice,” Mikaila said of lack of Black women and minorities in the field. Then Alexis chimed in: “But if you love something, then you just go ahead and do it.” WI

5 Alexis and Mikaila Esuke with campers. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)

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JULY 4 - 10, 2019 13

BUSINESS New Study Suggests Mortgage Discrimination By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins For Black families in the United States, homeownership has long been a means of acquiring and passing down generational wealth. However, mass displacement of Black people from their culturally rich urban enclaves continues to raise the question of whether it’s possible for them to own property in newly revitalized U.S. cities. A recent study by a real estate agency broadens this discussion, partly by implicating mortgage

lenders as a perpetrator of discriminatory practices against Black loan applicants. Researchers also cited information gaps they said complicate efforts to prevent bias toward historically marginalized groups. “Black people were twice as likely to be denied a mortgage, and this was most pronounced in the South,” said Tommy O’Shaughnessy, head of research at Clever Real Estate in Missouri. “Another important takeaway is that this data set is not complete.” Clever Real Estate’s study, titled “Racial Discrimination in Mortgage Lending: A Call for

5 The Clever Real Estate team conducted the research study on discriminatory practices against Black loan applicants. (Courtesy photo/Clever Real Estate)

Greater Transparency,” tested a sample of 1.7 million home loan applicants out of a national total of 3.5 million. Findings showed a nationwide disparity in home loan approvals between white and Black applicants. Researchers analyzed mortgage approval and denial data from each state, differentiating between regions, using racial identification as a variable, and controlling for income level. Data showed an approval gap

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of 10 percent between Black and white applicants. In the District, whites and Asians had a significantly higher probability, also up to 10 percentage points, of getting approved for a home loan, compared to their Black counterparts. Researchers couldn’t determine key reasons mortgage lenders denied mortgages to Black applicants, due to what O’Shaughnessy described as their negligence in revealing such information. “The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act was created in the 1970s to ensure that lenders weren’t discriminating,” he said. “One of the things they’re required to disclose is why an applicant was denied a mortgage. More than half of 80,422 Black applicants sampled had no reason.” The release of the Clever Real Estate study followed the latest D.C. Housing Expo and Home Show at the Washington Convention Center in Northwest where a group of protesters, chanting and toting signs, confronted Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) as a demonstration of their anger about what’s been described as city officials’ disdain for longtime African American residents who’ve struggled to live in an increasingly expensive city. In April, data from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition highlighted the disappearance of what had once been heralded as Chocolate City. By 2015, Black people accounted for less than 50 percent of the population, compared to more than 70 percent in the 1970s. Researchers pointed to increasing property values, rent and taxes as key factors in the removal of 135,000 residents from more than 200 District neighborhoods since the turn of the century. Last year, local attorney Aristotle Theresa sued the District, alleging that

urban renewal projects had been designed to push out longtime residents in favor of new, white single millennials. In recent years, the eastern part of the city has become more of an attractive option for displaced Washingtonians seeking new accomodations. However, houses in that region may be out of reach, said Ryan Butler, a local realtor whose client base mostly includes Black people, many of whom feel more compelled to seek housing in neighboring Prince George’s County, even with the availability of District-based home purchase programs. Those experiences, he stressed, often happen because of a financial portfolio that doesn’t make banks confident that one could keep up with mortgage payments. “Reasons why people might be denied a loan include a credit score of under 580, though many lenders require at least 620,” said Butler, managing partner of Coalition Partner Groups, an affiliate of Keller Williams Property Group. “I recommend at least 620 because rates tend to be different below. “Sometimes, the buyer doesn’t have enough cash, or the debt-toincome ratio is too high to afford prices in D.C. proper,” Butler said. “With clients, the conversation is mostly around where to get the funds for down payment and closing costs associated with buying a home. “So we spend time on first-time homebuyer programs and how our negotiating techniques keep their out-of-pocket low,” he said. “My team was at the forefront of DC Open Doors education and a lot of our buyers utilize DC’s Home Purchase Assistance Program program. Of course, we can’t forget about student loans and the impact it has the debt-toincome ratio.” WI

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BUSINESS

Wealth Gap Continues to Plague Blacks

By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia

In 2018, the DC Fiscal Policy Institute reported that racially biased policies and practices in hiring, homeownership, and education have led to large racial disparities in income, wages, wealth, and economic mobility in the District. When examined together, they reveal a pattern in which Black and Latinx residents in the District are being left behind, the report by Tinsae Gebriel for the DC Fiscal Policy Institute noted. Gebriel noted that the District should work towards holistic solutions that address these inequities by encouraging saving, continuing to help low-income, first-time homebuyers and protecting lowwage workers. The median household income for Black D.C. residents — $38,000 in 2016 — is less than a third of the median household income for whites, $126,000, according to the report. “The median income for Latinx families, $65,000 — is just half

the median white income,” the report said. “Incomes are lowest in Wards 7 and 8 — which are home to the city’s highest concentration of Black residents. Stagnant wages, underemployment, and lack of economic opportunity are among the barriers low-income residents of color face in D.C.” Also, wage gaps are similar to income. The median wage of white residents is nearly twice that of Black and Latino residents, according to the report. Today, less than a year after the report, not much has changed. “The systems in America are not designed for black people to succeed, on the contrary they are designed for Black people to fail,” said Deidre Rose of the The Ministry of Second Timothy, Inc. Rose, who holds a MBA from Howard University, said she’s currently involved in a lawsuit against the New York City Department of Education because she was fired in retaliation for pointing out that the education system is designed to cause Black students to fail. “I have spent 17 years engaged in independent research on how Black

people are mistreated in America, a conspiracy to ensure that descendants of African slaves continue to be servants in America under the guise of freedom,” Rose said. The wealth gap has greatly increased, but so has the opportunity to create wealth, said Kisha Mays of Just Fearless, a company that connects businesses to opportunities and partnerships around the world. “Tyler Perry focused on this in his acceptance speech at the BET Awards,” Mays said. “If those of us in the seven-, eight-, nine- and 10-figure net worth levels helped more [people], we would see the gap close.” Esi Gillo of DIFFvelopment, an organization that aims to close the racial wealth gap by making black youth aware of how they can overcome economic barriers through culturally specific entrepreneurial and financial literacy, said after she graduated with a master’s degree from the University of Oxford, she had no doubt she would be able to get a job. “However, to my surprise, I found that I looked better on paper than I did in person,” Gillo

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said. “For two years, I experienced varying levels of underemployment and by the time I landed a relatively well paying, mildly stimulating job, I had seen all that I needed to see about employment discrimination.” Additionally, after attaining de-

grees in psychology, Afro-American studies, and African studies, Gillo said she sought to build a career in research and become a thought leader within arenas that dealt with pertinent developmental issues af-

BUSINESS Page 44

JULY 4 - 10, 2019 15

NATIONAL NNPA Conference Wrap Up: Karen Carter Richards Assumes the Helm, Bernie Sanders Stops for Visit By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia

The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) wrapped up its 2019 annual convention with a passionate speech by Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders and the presentation of the Lifetime Legacy Award to former NNPA member and Executive Officer Marjorie Parham. Parham, a 101-year-old legend, spent more than three decades at the helm of the Cincinnati Herald and became a respected figure in the greater Queen City community

through both her newspaper work and her involvement in numerous civic organizations. “God blessed her with a long life,” outgoing NNPA Chairman Dorothy R. Leavell said at the awards ceremony that included greetings from former Ohio state Sen. and Sanders surrogate Nina Turner and an after-party with the legendary funk and soul musician Bootsy Collins. “Majorie Parham, live and enjoy,” Leavell said. In a stirring keynote address, Sanders blasted President Donald Trump and said if he’s elected he will push for free college, health

5 NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. with new NNPA Chair and Houston Forward Times Publisher Karen Carter Richards. (Mark Mahoney/DreamInColorPhoto)

care and cancellation of student loan debt. “We have a president who is, in fact, a racist and a bigot,” Sanders said of Trump. “I wish I did not have to say it.” The Vermont senator pledged to focus on racial and economic equality as he expressed disgust with the inequity of wealth in America. “There is no excuse for white families to own 10 times more wealth than Black families,” Sanders said. Highlighted by a number of panels and presentations aimed at furthering empowering publishers off

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of the Black Press, the conference kicked off Tuesday, June 25 with the third annual National Black Parents Town Hall where educators, newsmakers and community stakeholders discussed the Every Succeeds Act. An official Opening Reception followed at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center where publishers and visitors were treated to live music, food and a tour of the museum. The center counts as a museum that’s based on the history of the Underground Railroad. Opened in 2004, the center also pays tribute to all efforts to abolish human enslavement and secure freedom for all people, officials said. Morgan Owens, an NNPA columnist, entrepreneur and author, hosted a plenary session for millennials while Celeste Kearney, the daughter of host publisher Jan Michele Kearney, led a session on how to launch a podcast. Candy Moore, the senior vice president and manager of community relations and Southeast Community Development at Wells Fargo, presented a discussion about the Wells Fargo Foundation Relaunch. Topics also included “How the New Tax Laws will Affect Your Business,” “New Rules of Editing and Writing,” “Grow Your Business with Google” and “Harnessing the Amazing Power of Facebook.” General Motors’ Lester Booker Jr. participated in a fireside chat with NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. to discuss Chevrolet’s Discover the Unexpected Fellows Program and other initiatives from the automaker. Brenda Andrews of the New Journal and Guide newspaper in Norfolk, Va., won the coveted Publisher of the Year Award at the convention on Thursday. Andrews, who hosted last year’s convention, was greeted with a standing ovation as she ascended the platform to accept the award

from NNPA Foundation Chair Amelia Ashley-Ward, publisher of the San Francisco Sun Reporter. The Miami Times (10 awards), Philadelphia Tribune (9), and the St. Louis American (7) were the biggest winners of the night. Included in the Miami Times awards was the John B. Russwurm Trophy, which recognizes the newspaper that accumulates the most points in the foundation’s annual journalism competition. During the ceremony, Ashley-Ward asked for prayers for Miami Times Publisher Rachel Reeves, who Ashley-Ward said remains gravely ill. Westside Gazette Publisher Bobby Henry accepted the awards on behalf of the Miami Times and pledged to personally deliver them to Reeves and her family. In 1827, Russwurm co-founded Freedom’s Journal with Samuel E. Cornish the country’s first African American-owned and -operated newspaper, with the credo: “We wish to plead our own cause. Too long have others spoken for us.” The awards were hosted by MillerCoors while partner and sponsors included the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, General Motors, Pfizer Rare Disease, RAI Services Company, Ford, Macy’s, Wells Fargo, P&G, Volkswagen, API, AARP, Ascension, AmeriHealth Caritas, Fifth Third Bank and the NNPA Foundation. The convention closed with a luncheon cruise and a trip to Great American Ballpark hosted by Procter & Gamble where convention attendees were treated to a baseball game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago Cubs. Publishers elected a new NNPA board, including Leavell’s replacement as chair, Houston Forward Times Publisher Karen Carter Richards. “We did it,” Carter Richards exclaimed after her election. WI

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Joy Harjo Named Poet Laureate for U.S. WI Staff Report Poet, writer and musician Joy Harjo has been chosen by Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden to be the United States’ first-ever Native American poet laureate. Harjo will take the reins in the fall, succeeding Tracy K. Smith, who held the position for two years. “I’m still in a little bit of shock,” Harjo told The New York Times, “this kind of award honors the place of Naïve people in this country, the place of Native people’s poetry.” Harjo, 68, a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation, has written eight books of poetry, a memoir and two books for young audiences. She often draws in Native

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American stories, languages and myths in her work, saying that it “became a way to speak about especially Native women’s experience at a time of great social change.” Harjo, who often speaks of diversity of humanity and connecting the global with the personal, said she hopes her time as poet laureate serves as a reminder that “poetry belongs to everyone.” WI 4 The Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, recently named Joy Harjo U.S. poet laureate. Harjo is the first Native American to hold the title. (Photo courtesy/Poetry Foundation)

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Ghana Government to Reconsider Luxury Vehicle Tax Ghana’s Minister of Finance Ken Ofori Atta has revealed that some changes have been made to the Luxury Vehicle Tax (LVT) law that was introduced last year to lay to rest issues concerning its implementation. Addressing a news conference in Accra on Friday, however, he did not disclose the detail of those changes, saying it would be made known during the midyear budget review scheduled for next month, the Accra-based Ghanaian Times reported. When it was introduced by the government, the LVT required that owners of vehicles with engine capacities of 3.0-3.5 liters pay an annual tax of GH¢1,000, those with engine capacities of 3.6 to 4.0 liters would also pay GH¢1,500 and 4.1 liters and above, GH¢2,000 annually. However, the law has since been opposed by a coalition of car dealers and owners, who staged a demonstration in Accra in March

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to register their disapproval. Earlier this month, the coalition served notice of another demonstration to press home their message that the law, if implemented, would exacerbate the cost of their business. But Finance Minister Ofori-Atta told journalists, “We did not introduce this tax to cause any inconvenience to anybody in the country. We are fighting for the interest of the public so let us all collaborate to build the country we can all be proud of.” He said the introduction of the tax was a necessary move to increase revenue and fight climate change and assured that his outfit was poised on sealing revenue leakages and insisted on value for money, saying Ghana was not collecting enough taxes as it should. Describing the LVT as important for the future, the minister also urged the media to be cautious in their reportage on issues relating to the LTV law, adding that misinformation could incite vehicle owners against the government. He mentioned that the LVT was also a relevant law that would, among others, go a long way in promoting responsible consumption of fuel. The minister further bemoaned that high capacity engines negatively impacted the environment, adding that the LVT would control the use of vehicles with such engine capacities, thereby reducing their effect on the climate. Ofori-Atta indicated that there were some countries that were getting ready to phase out all vehicles that used diesel, in an effort to protect the environment, adding that Ghanaians must also learn to accept laudable moves as such. “It all boils down to the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which is seeking to create a better life for all of us,” said Ofori-Atta, who assumed office as Ghana’s Finance Minister on Jan. 27, 2017.

caribbean now U.S. Warns of Return of Foreign Fighters to T&T A senior U.S. military officer warns that the return of terrorist fighters to Trinidad and Tobago can pose a major threat to the country. Col. Claudia Carrizales, chief of the U.S. Embassy’s Military Liaison Office, said nationals of the country who are in detention in Syria and Iraq are expected to return in a year. Carrizales questioned if the country, government and citizens are “ready to deal with that kind of threat.” She made the comment while delivering the keynote address at a business forum hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce of Trinidad and Tobago at the Hilton Hotel, Port-of-Spain. Carrizales first spoke about the attempted 2018 Carnival terror plot, which she said was not a hoax. “If there is anyone in this room that does not believe that the Carnival threat of 2018 was real, then you are hiding under a rock,” she said. The police arrested 13 individuals for the terror plot, who were later released without charge. Carrizales said the fact that nothing happened was a “huge success for this country” and the government.

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Healthy Mom, Healthy Life Submitted by AmeriHealth Caritas District of ColumbiaSM Whether you’re a mom-to-be or a seasoned pro, it’s important for you to stay healthy for yourself and your family. Staying healthy by eating right, being fit, and managing your stress will help keep you ready for whatever life brings!

GOOD FOOD IS LOVE

Eating the right foods is good for you, your baby, and your whole family. Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains provide essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber. To eat right, try these tips: • Check out local farmers’ markets for locally grown and seasonal produce. You might discover something new! • Explore growing your own fruits and vegetables. Start with one or two plants in pots, then expand your “garden” if you enjoy it. Kids are often more interested in trying fruits and veggies they’ve helped to grow. • Remember, junk food and sweets are “sometimes” treats to

enjoy every now and then • If you’re an AmeriHealth Caritas District of Columbia (DC) member, you can take healthy cooking classes at no cost and get advice on healthy eating at our Member Wellness Center. To see our monthly schedule, visit www. amerihealthcaritasdc.com or the Member Wellness Center at 2027 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. • Members can also sign up for Weight Watchers® classes at no cost. Call our Community Outreach Solutions team at 202-216-2318.

I LIKE TO MOVE IT, MOVE IT!

Staying active and exercising regularly is one of the best things you can do for your health. • Try various activities to find the right fit. It might be yoga, swimming, walking, or biking. Did you know AmeriHealth Caritas DC members have complimentary access to Capital Bikeshare? This bicycle sharing program has stations throughout the District. For more information or to sign up, call the Member Wellness Center at 202216-2318. • Try to walk or bike when-

ever you can, as they are more fitness-friendly than driving • Sign your kids up for sports or gym and rec center activities to start them on the path to fitness. This can help them stay active throughout their lives, and teaches skills including teamwork, cooperation, and commitment. • AmeriHealth Caritas DC members can take fitness classes such as Zumba®, yoga, and aerobics at our Wellness Center, or enjoy gym memberships, all provided at no cost as a part of membership with AmeriHealth Caritas DC. Visit www.amerihealthcaritasdc.com or the Member Wellness Center to see our monthly schedule. Members can also go to www.fitnesscoach.com or call 1-888-369-2746 (TTY/TDD 711).

GIVE STRESS THE BOOT

Staying calm and relaxed in the face of life’s worries is not easy. Add the hard and often messy work of parenting, and you have a recipe for lots of stress. Here are some tips: • Find healthy ways to deal with stress at work and home. Practice being in the moment, or try deep breathing or stretching. Set aside time each day to do something you enjoy, such as reading, listening to

music, or exercising. • Try to do something fun with your family every day, such as cooking dinner or going on a walk together. • Get kids ready now for the upcoming school year with wellness checkups. All AmeriHealth Caritas DC members can get rides to health care appointments at no cost as part of their membership by calling 1-800-315-3485. • If you deal with stress by smoking, we can help you quit. AmeriHealth Caritas DC members can call Member Services at 1-800408-7511. All images are used under license for illustrative purposes only. Any individual depicted is a model

We Give Moms a Bright Start Our Bright Start® program at AmeriHealth Caritas DC is all about healthy moms and babies. AmeriHealth Caritas DC members can get specialized pregnancy care and help making healthy choices. Bright Start also helps control risk factors during pregnancy. Call Bright Start at 1-877-364-6797 as soon as you know you are pregnant.

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AmeriHealth Caritas District of Columbia complies with applicable federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex. English: ATTENTION: If you speak English, language assistance services, at no cost, are available to you. Call 1-800-408-7511 (TTY/TDD: 202-216-9885 or 1-800-570-1190). Spanish: ATENCIÓN: si habla español, tiene a su disposición servicios gratuitos de asistencia lingüística. Llame al 1-800-408-7511 (TTY/TDD: 202-216-9885 o 1-800-570-1190). Amharic: ማሳሰቢያ፡ አማርኛ መናገር የሚችሉ ከሆነ፣ ከከፍያ ነጻ የሆነ የቋንቋ ድጋፍ አገልግሎት ይቀርብልዎታል፡፡ በስልክ ቁጥር 1-800-408-7511 (TTY/TDD: 202-216-9885 ወይም 1-800-570-1190) ይደውሉ. 1-800-408-7511 ‫ اﺗﺼﻞ ﺑﺮﻗﻢ‬.‫ﺎن‬‫ ﻓﺈن ﺧﺪﻣﺎت اﳌﺴﺎﻋﺪة اﻟﻠﻐﻮﻳﺔ ﺗﺘﻮاﻓﺮ ﻟﻚ ﺑﺎ‬،‫ إذا ﻛﻨﺖ ﺗﺘﺤﺪث اﻟﻠﻐﺔ اﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ‬:‫ ﻣﻠﺤﻮﻇﺔ‬: Arabic .(1-800-570-1190 ‫ أو‬TTY/TDD: 202-216-9885 ‫)رﻗﻢ ﻫﺎﺗﻒ اﻟﺼﻢ واﻟﺒﻜﻢ‬

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JULY 4 - 10, 2019 19

HEALTH Activist Lois Y. Cooper Honors Mother in First Literary Work Alzheimer’s Silenced Formerly Vocal, Active Community Leader

By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins Petworth resident and activist Lois Y. Cooper has garnered a reputation as a writer and documentarian with neighborhood news blog articles and two films about D.C. history and culture. Her latest project, however, focuses on the woman she said played a major role in her success: her mother, Catherine Cooper. Cooper’s literary work “Momma Said: Words of Wisdom and Love” honors the Cooper family matriarch by telling her story of trial and triumph, and compiling her many words of advice on which the author, her seven sib-

lings, family members, friends and neighbors have often relied in the several decades before Alzheimer’s and dementia silenced her. “These were just life lessons that made sense that I mostly didn’t listen to [as a young person],” Cooper said of her book, released shortly after Mother’s Day. On July 25, Cooper will host an author’s meet-and-greet at the 11th Street branch of the Signal Financial Credit Union in Northwest. “In hindsight, I can understand that if I would have listened, I’d be much further in life now,” she said, reflecting on her coming of age in the Cooper household on 16th and Buchanan Streets in Northwest. “I was a fool doing God knows what

5 Lois Y. Cooper, author of “Momma Said: Words of Wisdom and Love.” (Courtesy photo)

in the streets, but I remember finally coming to my senses and telling my mother I wish I would’ve been a better daughter.” In “Momma Said,” Cooper organized her mother’s quotes into various subjects: life, truth, faith and death. The book also includes a compilation of articles that the author wrote about her mother, her impact on her community, and her struggles with Alzheimer’s and dementia. Each chapter has at least one Bible verse, testimonies from friends and family, and several

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family photos, including one of her mother with D.C. Councilman Brandon Todd (D-Ward 4) during her 100th birthday celebration. After learning about Catherine Cooper, readers can tell their story with a “Legacy Workspace,” a portion of the book in which they can answer several questions about their life, family and memories. Catherine Cooper, who turns 102 in December, was born and raised in South Carolina to a family that owned and grew crops on several acres of land. She and her husband John M. Cooper, also a South Carolinian, moved to the District after World War II and set up roots in the Deanwood neighborhood of Northeast. Out of a desire for spacious accommodations, and against the wishes of a realtor steering them toward Trinidad and Ivy City, the Cooper family, then eight children strong, later moved to 16th Street Heights in Northwest where Mrs. Cooper lives to this day. In 1968, three days after Christmas, Mr. Cooper succumbed to heart failure and hypertension,

leaving the widow Cooper with eight children, five younger than 18. In “Momma Said,” Lois Cooper said her mother never wavered in her commitment to family, working in the D.C. government until retirement age, and continuing the serve the community several years after as a volunteer in the D.C. Senior Companion Program. Though she acknowledged that all of her mother’s quotes carry equal weight, Cooper said one particular mantra bears incredible importance: “If you wait until the time is right you’ll never do anything. You just have to step out on faith.” She said she passed that advice on to her daughters, one of whom recently purchased a home in D.C. after a daunting process. “Stories matter,” she said. “There’s nothing like a first-person account. Why wait until we’re dead and people have to piece together our lives? I don’t want this to be a memorial. I want this to honor my mother. Everyone who’s read the book said it was an easy read. It gives people a chance to talk about their experiences.” WI

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A leading hospital in the District recently hosted an event lauding East End residents who proactively seek creative health solutions. Sibley Memorial Hospital, with Johns Hopkins Medicine, held on June 27 its second annual showcase of residents who participated in the Ward Infinity program at the R.I.S.E. Demonstration Center in Ward 8. Ward Infinity serves as a community-focused initiative developed by Sibley, located in Ward 3, to strengthen local efforts related to health and wellness in the District, specifically Wards 7 and 8. While Sibley services all District residents, it doesn’t have many patients from the east end of the city mainly because of its geographic location. Such residents largely use the United Medical Center and northwest hospitals such as Howard University Hospital, the Washington Hospital Center and the George Washington University Hospital. In 2017, Sibley convened conversations with community leaders and residents of those areas to better understand their health challenges, priorities and socioeconomic concerns. Out of those discussions, Sibley created Ward Infinity and its community health innovators program, known as Innovators in Residence, aiming to address health equity and social determinants of health while promoting innovation, advocacy and community engagement. The Ward Infinity Innovators program has operated since last year and this year’s group includes teams focused on such areas as health literacy, housing options and food access. Council member Vincent Gray (D-Ward 7), who chairs the council’s health committee, spoke highly of Ward Infinity. “This program focuses on health conditions,” Gray said to an audience of 65. “Food access, affordable housing, health literacy makes a difference on improving people’s health conditions. People should know that only 20 percent of public health is driven by clinical cases but the other 80 percent is determined by where you live, whether you have a job and how much stress do you do deal with in your life.” The health statistics for residents in those parts of the city are dis-

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5 Ward 8’s Amanda Stephenson presents her Ward Infinity affordable housing project. (Courtesy of Harry Connolly)

heartening. Statistics indicate that the life expectancies of Ward 2 and Ward 3 residents are 85 and 88 years, respectively while people who live in Ward 7 can expect to live to 75 years old and in Ward 8, 72. People who live in Ward 8 are five times more likely to have diabetes than residents of Ward 3, studies show. Ward 8 also posts high numbers of people who live with heart conditions and cancer rates, according to D.C. health statistics. Ward 8 residents Kesha Lee and Carlisha Gentles initiated “Team Health Literacy” and wants “to use technology to empower patients to navigate healthcare and connect with providers.” “We have co-designed a technological tool that offers a symptom checker, appointment maker and nudges and prompts that will encourage the user to go to the doctor’s office,” Lee said. The technology, in the form of an app, will be in the market stage shortly. Both Lee and Gentles made a pitch for investors for $200,000 for startup capital as well as people who are versed in the technology field for assistance. Amanda Stephenson of Ward 8 introduced an innovative housing idea to the audience. Noting that the median listing price for a house in the District costs $579,200, Stephenson proposed using underutilized lots in the city to house relatively inexpensive, sustainable eco container co-housing that contain health equity ecosystems using recycled shipping containers. These housing containers are fireproof and flood-proof and have

gotten responses and uses in China, Amsterdam and South Africa. “You can own a home that is safe and healthy for much less than $100,000,” Stephenson said. Taboris Robinson, a Ward 7 resident, works with Annie Li for Team Food Access. Robinson, an urban farmer at DC Urban Greens, said that much of the East End is a food desert, or an area where quality fresh foods are difficult to access. Food deserts are predominantly in low-income, high-poverty areas such as inner cities or rural communities. Ward 7 and 8 have a combined population of 150,000 people but only presently have three full-service grocery stores, whereas nearby Ward 6 has more than 10. Robinson said urban farms can make provide people with the fresh fruits and vegetables that are needed without extensive traveling to a grocery store that sometimes has to be done. “Our farms allow people to get good food inexpensively without having to travel a lot,” he said. Tambra Stevenson, founder and CEO of WANDA: Women Advancing Nutrition, Dietetics and Agriculture, seeks to improve nutrition literacy and build cultural connections through technology. Stevenson said her organization will use interactive platforms and storytelling to attract the attention of women to talk about their health. “We want women to open up about their health challenges,” said Stevenson, a Ward 8 resident. WI

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EDUCATION Tuskegee University: Symbol of Black Pride, Independence By Penelope Blackwell WI Intern As the United States celebrates another Independence Day, the date also holds significance for Black Americans as it marks the founding of the historically Black institution Tuskegee University. On July 4, 1881, former slaves Booker T. Washington and Lewis Adams, along with former slave owner George Campbell, established the Tuskegee Normal and

22 JULY 4 - 10, 2019

Industrial Institute — now known as Tuskegee University — in Alabama to create an opportunity of higher and learning and trade for Black people in the South. According to the university’s website, the House of Representatives “passed legislation for the establishment” of the school and a “$2,000 appropriation for teachers’ salaries was authorized” by law. Washington became the university’s president and remained so until his death in 1915.

5 Lily D. McNair has been named the 8th president of Tuskegee University. She is the first female to hold that position. (Photo courtesy/Tuskegee University)

“Initial space and building for the school was provided by Butler Chapel AME Zion Church not far from its present site,” the university website says. “However, the campus was moved to a 100acre abandoned plantation which became the nucleus of the present site.” The university’s mission is “rooted in a history of successfully educating African Americans to

understand themselves and their society against the background of their total cultural heritage and the promise of their individual and collective future. The most important of the people we serve are our students. Our overall purpose is to nurture and challenge them to grow to their fullest potential.” While Washington began the school’s development, university

officials explained that “over the past century, various social and historical changes have transformed this institution into a comprehensive and diverse place of learning whose fundamental purpose is to develop leadership, knowledge, and service for a global society.” The added growth of the uni-

HBCU Page 23

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EDUCATION

HBCU from Page 22 versity is also an extension of notable alumni that have contributed to the school’s efforts. Notable alumni include scientist and inventor George Washington Carver, famed musician Lionel Richie, Olympic medalist Alice Coachman and television and radio personality Tom Joyner. Joyner, a generous HBCU donor, established the Tom Joyner Foundation to support not just his alma mater but HBCUs around the country as well. “The Foundation has provided necessary support to every HBCU in its 20-year history to help sustain and preserve the legacies of these valuable institutions,” the foundation said on its website. “Through fundraising and donor development initiatives, $65 million has been raised to support more than 29,000 students attending HBCUs.” As an Alabama native, Joyner is also an advocate for the growing economic impact of the 15 HB-

CUs throughout the state. According to the United Negro College Fund, the schools have a $1.5 billion impact on the state economy and employ over 15,000 residents. Tuskegee’s first female president, Lily McNair, plans to advance the university’s mission through intellectual merit and strong leadership with the support of the Macon community. “I was impressed with Dr. McNair’s ability to reach out to alumni and successfully engage them to contribute financially to their alma maters,” said Solomon Banks, chair of the Eminent Presidential Associates and member of the Presidential Search Committee. “She further developed a program for freshman to help ensure retention and developed international programs for students. Additionally, I was pleased with her listening tours of academic departments where faculty shared their concerns, priorities and recommendations to improve the academic enterprise.” WI

American University Offers Internship Program for Politically-minded Students

5 American University’s Washington Semester Program students on the steps of the Capitol. (Photo courtesy/American University)

WI Staff Report American University has created a program providing students with an opportunity to get their foot in the congressional door. The university’s Washington Semester Program allows students to earn 12-17 AU credits for one semester, that are transferrable, along with the chance to intern at

a diverse range of organizations, government agencies and other businesses. The program allows students to gain both experience and knowledge in fields involving political science and government and law. The academic seminars offered include American politics, foreign policy, and international law and organizations. Participants are also

allotted a stipend of up to $10,000. Organizations involved in this program include BBC News, both the Democratic and Republican national committees and the World Bank. Students can apply through the American University website and can receive further information from representatives upon application. WI

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6/12/19 1:06 PM

EDITORIAL

OPINIONS/EDITORIALS

Democrats Have Serious Decisions to Make – and Soon If you watched the recent Democratic debates, you now know as much as we do about the 20 featured contenders all vying to take on Donald Trump in next year’s General Election – very little given the time allotted for each candidate on stages that included far too many individuals. And while several hopefuls, including Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Julian Castro, Pete Buttigieg and Cory Booker, may have left their mark on voters, joining the top two contenders, based on polls prior to the debates, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, the race will continue for more than year before we know who Democrats will choose during their convention to take on Trump. Rather than debunking the criticisms and evaluations of political pundits who spewed their assessments incessantly on talk shows and news reports both before and certainly after the two-days of debates, we encourage readers to take a few simple actions. First, think about what matters most to you as an American citizen and evaluate what shortcomings, if any, the current president has in terms of representing your specific needs. Second, refrain from getting bogged down in the notion of “electability” – code for ongoing efforts by the Democratic Party to promote a moderate candidate who they allege has a better chance of speaking to their base and beating Trump. Of course, let us not forget that Trump himself entered the political sphere and remains, without remorse, far removed from the vanguard of the Republican Party and the tenets to which they hold so firmly. Finally, and we hope most important, make sure you’re registered to vote and do your own homework and research about the candidates. Twitter, Instagram and other means of social media may yield today’s trending thoughts and observations about the presidential hopefuls but nothing can replace the results of individual, carefully-calculated study. One more recommendation: We implore our readers to refrain from staying home on Election Day with the excuse that “your candidate” did not make it to the “big dance.” If the current president’s policies, procedures and demeanor do not resonate with yours, then you must do your duty as an American citizen and cast your vote for his opponent – whether that person be male, female, Black or white. Voter oppression aside, we still possess certain unalienable rights in this country. Let us not shy away from exercising our right to vote – one of the most essential elements of our democracy. WI

Does Silence Mean Complicity? It is becoming increasingly difficult to interpret the resounding silence of the American people. Actions by the president, coupled with inaction by the people for whom he serves, are threatening our democracy and weakening our civil and human rights. We join the media across the globe who are mystified by the underwhelming response to President Trump’s attacks on the press made as recently as last week at the G-20 Summit where he and Russian President Vladimir Putin allegedly shared their disdain for the media. We don’t disagree with critics of the media who are wary of the biased reporting permeating places beyond the opinion pages but we stand by the democratic principle of the First Amendment which safeguards a free and open press. And we sympathize with the media organizations, and the families of the growing number of journalists assaulted, imprisoned, or killed in the line of duty while public outcry has grown silent. What has silenced communities across this country who are living with the impact of global warming but refuse to challenge Trump on his decision to separate the U.S. from the Paris Accord and his decision not to support the climate change goals agreed upon by the remaining 19 members of the G-20 countries? Victims of California wildfires, middle and southern region states devastated by tornadoes and floods, and other states, including Flint, Michigan, that don’t have clean and safe drinking water surely wonder, where is the outcry? D.C., along with its neighbors in Prince George’s County, are both sanctuary cities but three local undocumented immigrants were still picked up by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers last weekend and are facing deportation. Is this what citizens will have to contend with for not supporting Trump’s border wall? Have we become immune to the violence against Black men and boys at the hands of the police and others? Has our frustration over educational inequity moved to the point of acceptance and complacency? Are we sick and tired but not enough to get better? Where is the outcry? Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “There comes a time when silence is betrayal,” also noting, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” We are seeing things happen that matter, but our silence is deafening. All people, but especially Black people, cannot afford to be silent any longer. WI

TO THE EDITOR Sankofa Deserves Break from City

WI Bridge Captures Black Essence

I was happy to read that the Sankofa tax abatement is on track to pass. I will be watching this closely to make sure it does. Thank you to the editors at The Informer for keeping the community up to date on news and things that matter to US! Larry Dempier Washington, D.C.

Really enjoyed the WI Bridge this week. Beautiful photography capturing Blackness in a very artistic way and telling some interesting stories that I was truly enlightened by. I’m going to pass this to my grandson — he would love it! Graham Conley Washington, D.C.

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Readers' Mailbox

The Washington Informer welcomes letters to the editor about articles we publish or issues affecting the community. Write to: lsaxton@washingtoninformer. com or send to: 3117 Martin Luther King Jr Ave., SE, Washington, D.C. 20032. Please note that we are unable to publish letters that do not include a full name, address and phone number. We look forward to hearing from you.

JULY 4 - 10, 2019 25

OPINIONS/EDITORIALS Guest Columnist

By Barbara Reynolds

Salacious FBI Information Again Attacks Character of MLK

In 1970, only two years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., his widow Coretta Scott King received the horrific news that haters had shot into her husband’s crypt in Atlanta, using it for target practice. Though grieved by the news, she conceded it was an omen that even in his grave, the assassination of Dr. King would continue by fabrications and vile assaults on her husband’s character. To her, the words “you can kill

the dreamer, but not the dream” were not just a catchy mantra. She used them to brace for the backlash she feared would come. The recent trove of salacious and ill-reported old rumors being bandied about by Pulitzer Prize winner David Garrow falls seamlessly into that anticipated outcome. Mrs. King, who died in 2006, had often shared with me her distrust of Garrow because of his close ties to the FBI, an agency that has historically schemed to nullify Black leaders. According to former FBI agent Donald Wilson, agents cheered in the Atlanta bureau upon news of his death.

The controversial information was obtained from FBI bugging of hotel visits as Dr. King traveled across the country. The newest scandalous claims, according to an FBI agent, place Dr. King in a hotel room when a minister friend of his, now deceased, raped a woman, and King “looked on, laughed and offered advice” and that he also fathered a child with a mistress. The information Garrow reportedly uncovered was recently reported in Standpoint, a conservative British magazine, along with an article labeling King a “sexual predator” and “the Harvey Weinstein of the civil rights

Guest Columnist

movement.” As the news reverberated in London, Keith Magee, a senior scholar at the University College London (UCL), expressed his outrage. “This is part of the right wing’s offensive to dismantle and destroy everything revered by people of color,” Magee said. “As President Trump visited London, certain people couldn’t bear to see a Black man being more respected than Trump, so there was a move to destroy Dr. King’s image.” Meanwhile several right-wing news outlets are blowing up the fabricated scandal, in one in-

stance calling for the dismantling of Dr. King’s statue on the mall in the nation’s capital. Clayborne Carson, who oversees the Dr. King records headquartered at Stanford University, said he has seen the same information Garrow has but reached a differe “None of this is new,” Carson said. “Garrow is talking about a recently added summary of a transcript of a 1964 recording from the Willard Hotel that others, including Mrs. King, have said they did not hear Martin’s voice on in. The added summary

REYNOLDS Page 45

By Rev. Segun Adebayo

An Open Letter to Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich

Dear Mr. Elrich, I must say I was shocked and disappointed by your response, quoted below, to a question posed to you on the Moses African Cemetery: “Laurel from Rockville: Why haven’t you called a meeting between HOC and Macedonia Baptist Church to discuss memorialization of the Bethesda African

Cemetery? Both HOC and MBC have asked you to convene a meeting, and it was your campaign promise to find an expeditious solution to this issue. After seven months, why hasn’t a meeting been called yet? Marc Elrich: I have not called a meeting yet because I am waiting on information from members of the Macedonia Baptist Church, who offered to explore alternative entrances to the garage so that we could consider how the property could be memorialized. My

staff and I toured the garage with HOC staff, Reverend Adebayo of the Macedonia Baptist Church, engineers that Macedonia had engaged, among others to see the garage and allow the engineers to assess what might be possible. Subsequent to that tour, we provided the engineers with the architectural information they requested. I am now waiting to hear from them what they believe is possible, at what cost, so that I can then convene a meeting to discuss their proposal with HOC; I will also participate in that meeting. I strongly believe

Guest Columnist

we must honor the people who are buried there, but I cannot in good conscience, make that building unavailable to residents who need that affordable housing. I look forward to further conversations and am hopeful we can resolve this concern.” For you to ascribe the lack of progress since your assumption in office to Macedonia Baptist Church and me by asserting: “I have not called a meeting yet because I am waiting on information from members of the Macedonia Baptist Church, who offered to explore alternative en-

trances to the garage so that we could consider how the property could be memorialized....... I am now waiting to hear from them what they believe is possible, at what cost, so that I can then convene a meeting to discuss their proposal with HOC...” is beneath the dignity of your office. We expect you to lead and not react! You owe our community and me an apology for casting aspersion on us. Rather than ascribe a motive to your inaction since assuming

ADEBAYO Page 45

By Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr.

Trump Did the Right Thing

In recent weeks, President Donald Trump suddenly reversed two major decisions. He announced he would not begin mass deportations of those who are living in the country illegally, which he previously threatened to do, and he pulled the plug on a bombing attack on Iran, even as the military jets were on the runway. The reversals stunned aides and

26 JULY 4 - 10, 2019

allies alike. In both cases, Trump disappointed hawkish advisers and zealous supporters who had urged him to act. In both cases, Trump did the right thing. It’s easy to be skeptical or dismissive about Trump’s flip-flops. In both cases, he defused crises of his own making. In both, he avoided what would have been a humanitarian horror. In both, the impulsiveness of the threatened action was matched by the suddenness of

the reversal. In both, the reversals may only be a temporary attack of sanity. Critics argue that Trump’s reversals undermine his credibility and sap American authority. Cynics discount the decisions, saying even a broken clock gets the time right twice a day. All that may be true, but it is worth thanking Trump when he makes the right choice. On Iran, he is surrounded by advisers — like National Security Adviser John Bolton — eager to ratch-

et up the crisis. Even his former secretary of defense, James “Mad Dog” Mattis, was an advocate of taking on Iran. The so-called “adults in the room” — the folks said to be reining in an impulsive and uninformed president — would have pushed us into another war. Attacking Iran would have violated Trump’s campaign promise to get us out of “stupid wars.” As president, he repeatedly says that “great powers don’t fight wars without end,” and boasts he’s getting the troops out.

In fact, however, the war in Afghanistan goes on, the troops are still in Syria and Iraq, Trump vetoed the congressional effort to end our role in the Saudi attack on Yemen, and he’s been ratcheting up pressure and sanctions on Iran from the beginning of his administration. When the Iranians shot down a U.S. drone, the hawks had exactly the provocation they wanted to begin bombing. Trump initially agreed, but then reversed him-

JACKSON Page 44

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OPINIONS/EDITORIALS Guest Columnist

By Charlene Crowell

Will White House Act to End Affordable Housing Crisis?

Nearly 90 years ago, Kelly Miller (1863-1939), a Black sociologist and mathematician, said, “The Negro is up against the white man’s standard, without the white man’s opportunity.” As the first Black man to enroll as a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University in 1908, Miller also authored a book, “Race Adjustment,” published in 1908. Ironically, despite the passage of

time, Miller’s words express the same sentiment held today by many Black Americans. As a people and across succeeding generations, we have held fast to our hopes for a better life. Yet it is painfully true that many opportunities enjoyed by other Americans have been elusive for people of color. Noted author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates expressed a similar view during his June 19 Capitol Hill testimony on reparations. “Enslavement reigned for 250 years on these shores,” Coates said. “When it ended, this country could

Guest Columnist

have extended its hallowed principles — life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness — to all, regardless of color. But America had other principles in mind. And so for a century after the Civil War, Black people were subjected to a relentless campaign of terror, a campaign that extended well into the lifetime of Majority Leader McConnell.” While economists, public policy think tanks and other entities may sing a chorus of how well the American economy is performing and expanding, people of color — especially

Blacks and browns —– have yet to see or feel economic vibrancy in our own lives — particularly when it comes to housing and homeownership. On June 25, Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) released its annual report, “The State of the Nation’s Housing.” One of the housing industry’s most broadly anticipated and cited reports, it once again chronicles recent trends and issues. “The limited supply of smaller, more affordable homes in the face of rising demand suggests that the

rising land costs and the difficult development environment make it unprofitable to build for the middle market,” said Chris Herbert, JCHS’s managing director. Among this year’s key findings: * Since 2018, the monthly housing payment on a median-priced home has been $1,775; * In 2019, the cost of a median-priced home rose by 4% to $261,600 when a comparable home in 2011 was priced far lower at

CROWELL Page 46

By Robert Hay Jr.

CDC Should Avoid Preventable Vaccine ‘Deja Pneu’

Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released an unscheduled measles report of 971 cases “because it had reached this new milestone.” That number has recently risen to 981 with no signs of stopping soon. Measles is a vaccine-preventable disease that until recently was deemed eliminated. Then came the current outbreak, which has hit the northeast U.S. particularly hard and includes multiple cases reported right over the border in Mary-

land. This shows the impact of lax vaccine requirements on diseases once thought to be eliminated. But now, instead of heeding the science behind vaccines, the CDC is on the brink of moving in the opposite direction. They are considering removing vaccine requirements for another contagious disease, pneumococcal, in a vulnerable population, Americans 65 and older. Such a move would misrepresent not just the importance of the relationship between doctors and their patients when it comes to vaccines, particularly within minority communities, but also the seriousness of pneumococcal disease, for which the pneumo-

Guest Columnist

coccal vaccine is the most effective defense. Pneumococcal disease can cause pneumonia, blood infections, and even bacterial meningitis. It can lead to hearing loss, blindness, seizures and death. Nearly one million people contract pneumococcal disease annually, leading to about 50,000 deaths in the United States every year, according to the CDC. The overwhelming majority of these deaths are adults. And the African American vaccination rate, currently at only 50 percent, continues to trail substantially behind the vaccination rate for white Americans (68 percent) and the national target vaccination rate (80

percent), according to the Department of Health and Human Services. This disease may not get the same attention as measles, but make no mistake: it is harmful, especially in a population with weakened immune systems and multiple chronic conditions, both of which raise the likelihood of contracting this potentially deadly disease. For a number of complex, interconnected reasons, minorities are at an elevated risk to chronic conditions, putting them at increased risk of contracting pneumococcal disease. And like measles, the most effective defense against pneumococcal disease is to get a vaccine.

While misinformation and fearmongering often drive vaccine refusals for measles, pneumococcal and other diseases, many seniors are unaware they need the vaccines in the first place, which makes a doctor’s guidance critical. Already, 80 percent of adults who are at an increased risk for pneumococcal disease due to chronic conditions, and 40 percent of adults over 65 remain unvaccinated, according to the CDC. The District’s seniors have enough to worry about when it comes to health care, particularly when it comes to deciphering the

HAY Page 46

By Gail C. Christopher

America’s Challenge: Moving Toward Racial Healing and Transformation

Months after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam came under fire for the racist images on his yearbook page from Eastern Virginia Medical School in 1984, he remains in office, a battered and chastised public figure. But maybe this isn’t a bad thing. A quick resignation would have elicited rhetorical condemnations, a symbolic “washing of hands,” and sent the wrong message that everything has been resolved. It most certainly has not been, and in late May an investigation by the medical

school couldn’t conclusively determine whether it’s the governor in the photo. But the Commonwealth of Virginia and our nation have an even weightier problem: they must address the root cause of racism 35 years ago, and today — the belief in a hierarchy of human value that poisons our society. Through centuries, America has failed to do the required work of uprooting and finally eliminating the idea and belief in a hierarchy of humanity — the empowering of one human being over another because of skin color or religion or ethnicity. It was stunning that when USA Today examined 900 yearbooks from the same era, they found more than 200

examples of racist materials, demonstrating the depth of racial bias in our society. The heart of the problem is the hierarchy of human value. This core belief is the myth that built America. Human value hierarchy fueled unfettered land confiscation from Native Americans and unprecedented human decimation and enslavement of Africans; all of which fueled a young country’s rapid economic growth and emergence as a world power. As long as the foundational myth of unequal human value is allowed to fester consciously and unconsciously, the idea can, will and indeed IS being manipulated for political gain and po-

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tentially authoritarian power. Hitler perfected this art of fearmongering and emotional manipulation using the idea of a hierarchy of human worth and value. His Nuremberg laws became the basis of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. These laws were modeled after racist laws and practices here in the United States. The 2017 book, “Hitler’s American Model” by Yale Legal scholar James Whitman, documents how America’s racial oppression helped inspire the Nazis’ anti-Jewish legislation. Clearly, if America only “washes our hands” after every incident of racism, we fail to enact any mean-

ingful change. The action that is long overdue in Virginia and the whole of America is a truth and racial healing process. To heal is to make whole, to set right. A broken bone must be reset in order to heal without deformity. Setting the United States right requires humanely and sincerely facing and unpacking the truths of our past; and finally burying the myth of a hierarchy of human value; replacing it with awareness and appreciation of the sacred interconnected reality of humanity. We must all realize that we are truly one human family, ultimate-

CHRISTOPHER Page 46 JULY 4 - 10, 2019 27

LIFESTYLE Apollo Theater Shines in New HBO Documentary By Brenda C. Siler WI Contributing Writer Eighty-five years of AfricanAmerican entertainment comes to life in the documentary “The Apollo,” produced by HBO Documentaries. Helmed by award-winning director Roger Ross Williams, the film covers just about everything viewers want to know when it comes to the landmark venue on 125th Street in Harlem. The film had two screenings last week in the D.C. area, one at the AFI Docs Film Festival and

28 JULY 4 - 10, 2019

another at the National Archives in a special collaboration with the March on Washington Film Festival. At both screenings, attendees could be seen moving their heads to jazz, R&B and hip-hop coming through the screen. Archival footage and contemporary interviews tell the significant history and stories about the Apollo Theater, regaling with such tales as Ella Fitzgerald fearing she’d be booed off the stage when she made her Apollo debut on Amateur Night. In its early days, the Apollo

5 The famed Apollo Theater’s neon sign shines over 125th Street in New York’s Harlem neighborhood. (Courtesy of HBO via AFI Docs Film Festival)

was one of the few big theaters in the country where Black entertainers could perform. Historian Billy Mitchell, Apollo tour guide and ambassador, attended the National Archives

screening and said his love and passion for the theater cannot be contained. “We are the epicenter of Black culture. We are the truth,” said Mitchell, who has been a part of the Apollo for 54 years “No one should tell our story but us so we can leave this legacy to our great-great-grandchildren. The ancestors are always in that building.” The Apollo struggled through periods of hard times, primarily from not being able to compete with larger entertainment venues. An investment by businessman and former Manhattan Borough President Percy Sutton were no match for the economic realities that challenged the Apollo. In 1983, the theater received state and city landmark status. In 1991, the Apollo Theater Foundation, Inc., was established as a private, not-for-profit organization to manage, fund and oversee programming for the Apollo Theater. Today, the Apollo executive producer is Kamilah Forbes. “It’s more than a venue of entertainment,” Forbes said during a post-screening question-and-answer panel at the National Archives. “It is a place where culture convenes. It is home, it is church. It is one of the largest African American performing arts institutions. The importance of the preservation and the elevation of our Black institutions is critical.” Former Rep. Charles Rangel is seen in the film recalling the importance of the Apollo and Harlem during his childhood. That

part of New York was inhabited by White immigrants, then was later occupied by Blacks. Rangel’s remembrances are important for viewers to fully understand how the Apollo evolved through the decades. “For 85 years the history of the Apollo is intricately connected with American history” said co-producer Lisa Cortés after the screening. “It’s a place where important cultural conversations and movements can take place and have global impact.” The documentary is framed by the 2018 Apollo reading of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ bestseller “Between Me and the World.” Positioned artfully in the documentary, the reading shows how far things have come for society, but still, much more remains to be done. The production, a joint effort between the Apollo and the Kennedy Center, was read by a star-studded group of entertainers. Angie Gates, director of the DC Government Office Cable Television, Film, Music and Entertainment, was in the National Archives audience. She was the first African American to be general manager at the District’s Warner Theatre and could relate to the massive job in maintaining a historic theater. “To watch this story about the Apollo was just amazing,” Gates said. “Just to see how careers started, to broaden to an educational component, then to see what the theater is doing today is historic.” WI

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LIFESTYLE

B. Monet Becomes First Black Female to Direct Cadillac Commercial By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia

5 Director B. Monet (Courtesy photo)

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You can call Brittany Fennell by her given name, her last name or by the moniker that has helped drive her to fame, “B. Monet.” Whatever the name, the award-winning writer and director from Silver Spring, Maryland, who holds degrees from Spelman and New York University, will go down in history as the first African American woman to direct a car commercial for Cadillac. “I think it was like five different women who were selected [as finalists] to be the director and then I got a phone call and then it ended up being me and another person,” B. Monet said, explaining the history-making process. “I was selected and it’s still kind of mind-boggling to me that I’m the first Black woman to do this. “I’m really hoping and I think we’ll definitely do more,” a joyous B. Monet said. The 30-second spot, titled “Keep Rising Together,” debuted at this year’s American Black Film Festival, and the message — one that Cadillac hopes resonates — is intended to inspire. “I think it’s a great message of rising above and moving forward and showing us we can be triumphant above all,” she said. “I love that message.” In an interview with Rolling Out, B. Monet said this has been a “super surreal” year for her — a year that’s included doing a short

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der the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. “The condition for allowing the programs, however, was that the state or locality had to show clear evidence that the program is narrowly tailored to address actual disparities in the marketplace for the jurisdiction that operates the program,” he said. “To accomplish this, before every re-authorization in the state, we must conduct a disparity study to determine if there is continued evidence that MBEs are underutilized in state contracting.” Lewis said the 2017 study showed continued disparities in Maryland. “Since 2013, our statewide MBE participation goal is 29

film with Queen Latifah that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and streamed on Hulu. “Then to have this amazing experience to have other people who look like me, literally see a commercial and I’m the first Black woman to do it,” she said. “It’s really hard to put into words. It’s just this surreal moment for me that’s so priceless.” As for the finished product in the Cadillac Keep Rising Together spot, B. Monet said she was absolutely thrilled with it and looks forward to other opportunities that the automaker might present. “I think, you know, also dealing with cars for the first time, it was just like, wow — like, I think it was a ‘wow’ moment for me,” she said. “Because it’s not to say that women can’t direct car commercials. “And we’re always in, like, the melodrama,” B. Monet said. “And like, the super-sappy things and stories. For me, I want to be able to do what the boys do. I want to do the car shows. “So I was very happy to see that in what we created and I thought, you know, it’s going to hopefully inspire more people to get out there and also pursue their dream, because there’s a lot to talk about,” she said. “I think this spot really shows people of color at the helm, women of color at the helm and people need to see that.” WI percent of all dollars spent,” he said. “African American-owned construction businesses were paid 5.1 percent of state construction contract dollars, but they made up 10.3 percent of the construction sector in the state of Maryland.” To help Black businesses get their fair share, Lewis helped pass a bill in the General Assembly that enables contractors who meet the state’s qualifications and who are federally certified as a DBE to get quick certification as a MBE for Maryland without additional paperwork. “This bill will save small and minority businesses much time from having to go through the duplicative process we currently have, which can take six months to a year to get registered in the state,” Lewis said. WI

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LIFESTYLE

Washingtonian’s Trek from Poverty to the White House Comes to the Stage Hard Work, Humility Underscore Life of Stewart Stevens, Sr., Custodian for Seven Presidents By D. Kevin McNeir WI Editor @dkevinmcneir Stewart “Calvin” Stevens, Sr., 81, a longtime resident of Upper Marlboro born just outside of the District, has firsthand knowledge of what it takes to overcome adversity including educational limitations and racial discrimination. Now, after first recounting his story of how he beat the odds and emerged victorious, meeting the needs and improving the quality of life for his wife and children in his 2016 published work, “The White House Chandeliers,” audiences can experience his tale of triumph on stage at THEARC in Southeast, Saturday, July 13. The play, written by his daughter Lynetta Stevens, who also composed the lyrics for music which accompanies the production, will be shown at 2 and 6 p.m. Like so many unsung

Black men determined to make life better for their families through hard work and perseverance, the play reveals Stevens’ path from abject poverty to service in the armed forces, later being hired as a custodian at the White House – a job he held for 30-plus years under seven U.S. presidents. And besides illuminating the pride he took as the man responsible for cleaning the chandeliers and windows there, the play also shares the moving love story that ensued between him and his lifelong companion, Janice Marie Stevens – his “First Lady” as he refers to his wife and to whom he dedicated his book. The cast includes Theodore Sapp, Kinosha Soden (Miss District of Columbia, 2016), Akeem Adams, Jeffrey Jackson, Jr. and Anissa Stewart, with the support of THEARC’s Building Bridges Across the River initiative and produced by Dawn of The Cameo Promise LLC and

DCAV Productions. Lynetta says her father serves as an example of living history whose story “will foster a sense of fulfillment for him as well as enjoyment for those who come to witness it as it unfolds on the stage.”

CHANDELIERS Page 44

5 Stewart Stevens, Sr. (Photo courtesy Lynetta Stevens)

5 A birthday celebration with the Stevens’ children “back in the day.” (Photo courtesy Lynetta Stevens)

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LIFESTYLE

DEBATE from Page 1 which he has defended as necessary for compromise. “I do not believe you are a racist, and I agree with you when you commit yourself to the importance of finding common ground,” Harris told Biden. “But I also believe it was hurtful to hear you talk about the reputations of two United States senators who built their reputations and career on the segregation of race in this country. And it was not only that, but you also worked with them to oppose busing.” CNN called Pete Buttigieg as another of the winners, saying the South Bend, Indiana, mayor’s per-

5 Kamala Harris (File photo)

5 Joe Biden (File photo)

5 Julian Castro (File photo)

5 Bernie Sanders (File photo)

32 JULY 4 - 10, 2019

formance was more akin to a senator or a governor who had been at this for a long time and a co-front-runner in the race. “His outspokenness on why Democrats need not cede religion to Republicans was powerful,” CNN analysts wrote. “His answer on the officer-involved shooting in his hometown was clearly well rehearsed, yes, but it was about as a good an answer as he could give on such a difficult issue. Buttigieg has lots and lots of natural political ability — and it shone through.” A number of debate watchers said Biden and Elizabeth Warren were among the losers and, of all the candidates, MSN analysts described Marianne Williamson as perhaps the biggest loser. “If you think we’re going to beat Donald Trump by just having all these plans, you’ve got another thing coming, because he didn’t win by saying he had a plan,” Williamson said during the debate. However, MSN noted that later in the debate, when asked about what she would do if she could accomplish only one thing as president, she said it would be “calling the leader of New Zealand to talk about making America great for children again — or something along those lines. It wasn’t entirely clear what she meant. Bizarre.” WI

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LIFESTYLE Mexican Artist José Sacal Remembered in New Exhibit By Eve M. Ferguson WI Contributing Writer Mexican sculptor José Sacal died in October after a tragic illness, leaving behind an enormous body of work consisting of small exhibition sculptures and monumental public art displays. Those who have traveled to Mexico City likely encountered his works numerous times throughout the urban landscape, but the artist’s work is less known in the Northeast. Now art aficionados in Washington can take in the exhibition “Sacal: Un Mexicano Universal,” on display at the Mexican Cultural Institute in D.C. from June 19 through July 27. More than 20 of his sculptures have been installed in public spaces in Mexico, Israel, and the U.S. He became the first Mexican artist to have his sculptures permanently displayed in China in 2006. In Los Angeles, he has public sculp-

tures in the Children’s Hospital and the Museum of Tolerance. Lovingly curated by Gregorio Luke, former director of the Mexican Cultural Institute, the works on display in the exhibit demonstrate why the artist was in such high demand for his thoughtful and thought-provoking sculptures. Luke, who has gone on to become a renowned international lecturer on Mexican art and material culture, was a good friend of Sacal and used this short yet important span of time to introduce the uninformed to this great Mexican icon’s incredible pieces, some which seem to defy gravity and time. “The sculptures of this exhibit include two groups of his works: sculptures inspired by other works of art and portraits of historical figures,” Luke said. Sacal once described his creative process for developing sculptures: “First l try to understand its dimension in space, I record it in the unconscious,

sometimes I even dream about it, but when I do sculpture, I let feelings flow freely. During the creative process I never see photos or drawings, because I would end up copying.” When the artist revisited some iconic works, such as Grant Wood’s “American Gothic,” he deconstructed the elements of the art work to create an entirely different manifestation using common components. The pitchfork, face of the male and barn slats all combine to make a less confined image. His interpretation of Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes, whose image has been captured by many artists, breathes new life into the usual staid portrait of the man wearing a high, stiff collar. Sacal’s Cervantes’ collar is actually mobile and can rotate. “I found myself in the presence of a true artist,” Luke said in his lecture at the opening of the exhibition. “In doing the main challenge of artists today, it speaks of a moral caliber, and a morality that is not defined by a code of behavior. The artist has to be indifferent to the market, to the opinion of the critics, to the caprice of collectors and has to be true to him or

herself. And to do things he truly believes in. José was constantly changing.” Sacal’s output covered series of bodies, hearts, animals and even feet. He also combined the unconventional. For instance, his portrait of Mahatma Gandhi has the figure gracefully twisted with his signature glasses, but grounded by elephant feet, representing strength and acknowledging the importance of elephants in his native India, but also in South Africa where Gandhi spent considerable time. Sacal’s travels also took him to Africa, where he observed animals in the wild. A portrait of jazz legend Louis Armstrong removes the trumpet from the bust’s hands, leaving them and the mouthpiece in position. The trumpet has migrated to the top of his head instead.

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5 Sacal’s bust of Louis Armstrong (Eve M. Ferguson/The Washington Informer)

Luke said the works capture “the sadness of seeing artists that, once they are successful, become imitators of themselves.” “Once they find a type of work, if it works commercially, they repeat it and do variations of themselves,” Luke said. “Not José Sacal, an artist that continually innovated and continually transformed.” Sacal often found the essence of each character or work, Luke wrote. It could be a detail or an object, such as Armstrong’s trumpet or Marcel Marceau’s mask, but the rest was something deeper, like the impenetrable inexpressiveness of Grant Wood, the seriousness of David or the anguish of Edvard Munch’s “The Scream.” “By recreating them, Sacal gave them a new meaning and established an artistic dialogue at a higher level” Luke said. “In his intelligent observation of art and history, Sacal revealed himself as a universal Mexican.” “Sacal: Un Mexicano Universal” opened on June 19 and is on view until July 27 at the Mexican Cultural Institute of Washington, located at 2829 16th St. NW. For more information, go to www.instituteofmexicodc.org, call 202728-1628, or follow the Mexican Cultural Institute on Twitter @ MexCultureDC, on Instagram @ MexCultureDC, and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mexculturedc. WI

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LIFESTYLE

wi book review “Becoming a Private Investigator (Masters at Work series)” by Howie Kahn c.2019, Simon & Schuster $18 ($25 Canada) 144 pages

horoscopes

JULY 4 - 10, 2019

ARIES You may reckon with success at work this week. Don’t force yourself to anything. You cannot force things like this and it won’t help you increase your status and prestige, either, if you’d try. Mind that your emotional perceptions don’t clash with your rational thoughts. Be careful, therefore, with flirtations at work. You may feel this differently or not even be aware of it, but others may interpret it in another way. This could go down badly this week. Lucky Numbers: 3, 12, 15 TAURUS You have gained a clear insight into the course of events in the different fields and aspects of your life. You have a clear vision of your education, work and private life. You know what you’re good at and, even more specifically, what you’re not good at. You know the rules of the game and agree to stick to them. You are practical and pragmatical. You take things in their stride and continue to work steadily and patiently towards your future. Lucky Numbers: 11, 33, 34 GEMINI Although you are really busy, you have the tendency to lean back and laze away the day. This is an important period in your life, though. A time to discover new fields of interest. Your creative capacity is enormous and precisely at this time you could actually realize things that would have cost you the greatest of efforts not so long ago. Lucky Numbers: 1, 2, 38

By Terri Schlichenmeyer WI Contributing Writer You need to pick up one of those magnifying glasses. Oh, and a trench coat. You want to close cold cases and fight crime, so those must be mandatory, right? Trench coat, magnifying glass, catch killers, solve crimes, and that’s what it takes to be a P.I. Or you need to read “Becoming a Private Investigator” by Howie Kahn. No big surprise: your favorite TV detective show has everything wrong. On television, the P.I. is usually looking for a murderer; in reality, says Kahn, private investigators deal with a variety of issues that need deeper research than perhaps most people are able to do. On television, P.I.s are always broke; in reality, they make up to $500,000 on bigger jobs. TV crimes are solved in an hour, minus commercials; in real life, a private investigator might work on a case for years. If you think it’s a career for a person with patience, you’re right: private investigators are research experts and can unravel the most knotted facts, they’re flexible, and they know how to read people. They’re also good at “disrupting” stalled investigations, a talent that police sometimes hate. P.I.s are able to think sideways to spot clues, and they have the tenacity of 10 terriers. As for the industry itself, Kahn cites the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which states that “projected occupational growth rate” is 11 percent, which is much higher than for other jobs. Three years ago, the U.S. boasted more than 40,000 working private investigators, all of which, presumably, are licensed, since the majority of America’s states have strict requirements on licensure. To give readers an idea of what it’s like to work as a private investigator, Kahn followed two P.I.s, one in Tennessee and one in Texas. The former became a private eye after helping to solve the murder of her former roommate; she wanted to quit when it was over until she realized that her expertise was still needed. The Texas P.I. gained his skills while in the military, and he shares with Kahn a case that still dogs him … Readers who come to this book for career advice will be quite surprised at “Becoming a Private Investigator,” for two big reasons. While this series of guidebooks is generally meant for high school students and adults looking for career changes, this one focuses almost entirely on the latter. Indeed, both of author Howie Kahn’s profiled P.I.s are older adults who started their respective careers well past their high-school years. Yes, teens will glean information here but adults will benefit more. The other truly pleasant surprise is in the true-crime elements in which this book is so deeply steeped. Kahn’s investigators and their case studies will call to mystery mavens and armchair detectives alike, perhaps aiming crime solvers toward fascinating second careers later in life. Even if you’re not career swapping, this different kind of business book is pure fun to read. If you’re thinking of a new job, however, and need help launching, get “Becoming a Private Investigator” and magnify your options. wi

CANCER You have warm feelings for someone who doesn’t have the same feelings for you. Don’t let these feelings gain the upper hand. If these feelings start dominating you, you risk becoming even more tenacious in the pursuit of reaching your goal. Lucky Numbers: 17, 28, 43 LEO Being in love and creativity have one thing in common at the moment. Without you being aware of it, they both help you to distance yourself from the small everyday things of life. They lift you to a “higher sphere” where day-to-day worries have no effect on you. One moment you are “up there,” the next you are back to your daily routine, diligently doing what you should do. Lucky Numbers: 8, 10, 12 VIRGO If one of your friends or acquaintances and you have a difference of opinion, this is the perfect week to come to an understanding. If you wish to make a good impression on someone within your circle of friends and acquaintances, your the same advice holds true: do it this week and you will be successful. Continue to be honest and to be the usual, true Virgo that you are. Lucky Numbers: 8, 9, 13 LIBRA This is an exciting time for your love life. With a Pisces, Taurus or Leo, the relationship will be granted only a short life. But you will continue to feel good about it for a long time. The love affair will be stamped on your memory as having been extremely pleasant and very thrilling. You can be quite sure that love affairs like this are rather exceptional. Lucky Numbers: 11, 26, 43 SCORPIO Your love life reigns supreme. You’re more focused on intimacy and romance than on sex. That suits your partner well. After this week, sex will come naturally. Don’t force this issue, because that will have a contrary effect. Don’t worry too much this week and the next few weeks: everything will run smoothly even if you don’t do anything actively yourself. Lucky Numbers: 30, 40, 47 SAGITTARIUS Your love life needs a new impulse. This is something you also need to stimulate yourself. A little snuggling, a bit of (other) romance and a couple of sweet words work wonders in a relationship that muddles along. Not everything should be taken for granted. Lucky Numbers: 32, 44, 49 CAPRICORN In the course of this week, an important position of the stars will be attained for the Capricorn. This position will hold until the month of February. The effect of the stars will be such that you feel an ever-growing desire to completely change your life. New surroundings seem attractive. Perhaps you’ll want to move house or even emigrate. You may find another job. Or you may start enjoying your fortune if you have built this up, no matter how large or small. Lucky Numbers: 22, 29, 35 AQUARIUS Listen carefully to the people around you this week. You do tend to listen, but you don’t actually seem to hear or register anything. And you don’t easily accept a piece of advice, either. This may also be due to the fact that you can rest on your laurels once again as far as your love life is concerned. Lucky Numbers: 13, 16, 32 PISCES During the past few weeks, you’ve had to cope with quite a bit of stress. You’ll discover that you’ll be coming into smooth waters in the course of this week. You’ll also feel that the stress and the worries have made you stronger once again. Your increased mental powers and improved balance will come out handy during the next few months. Lucky Numbers: 2, 4, 26

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JULY 4 - 10, 2019 35

SPORTS Mystics Extinguish Sun, Vault into First

5 Connecticut Sun guard Courtney Williams drives against Washington Mystics guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough during the Mystics’ 102-59 win at Entertainment and Sports Arena in southeast D.C. on Saturday, June 29. (John E. De Freitas/The Washington Informer) 3 Washington Mystics forward Tianna Hawkins drives against Connecticut Sun guard Rachel Banham during the Mystics’ 102-59 win at Entertainment and Sports Arena in southeast D.C. on Saturday, June 29. (John E. De Freitas/The Washington Informer)

3 Washington Mystics guard Kristi Toliver dribbles while fending off Connecticut Sun guard Jasmine Thomas during the Mystics’ 102-59 win at Entertainment and Sports Arena in southeast D.C. on Saturday, June 29. (John E. De Freitas/The Washington Informer)

5 Washington Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne spins past Connecticut Sun forward Shekinna Stricklen during the Mystics’ 102-59 win at Entertainment and Sports Arena in southeast D.C. on Saturday, June 29. (John E. De Freitas/ The Washington Informer) 4 Connecticut Sun guard Courtney Williams attempts to muscle past Washington Mystics forward LaToya Sanders during the Mystics’ 102-59 win at Entertainment and Sports Arena in southeast D.C. on Saturday, June 29. (John E. De Freitas/The Washington Informer)

36 JULY 4 - 10, 2019

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SPORTS Blackjacks Down Valor

5 Atlantic City Blackjacks wide receiver Lamark Brown runs past Washington Valor defensive lineman Roderick Henderson to score a touchdown during the Blackjacks’ 70-41 win at Capital One Arena in D.C. on Saturday, June 29. (John E. De Freitas/The Washington Informer)

5 Atlantic City Blackjacks wide receiver Antwane Grant attempts to shed a Washington Valor tackler during the Blackjacks’ 70-41 win at the Capital One Arena in D.C. on Saturday, June 29. (John E. De Freitas/The Washington Informer) 5 Atlantic City Blackjacks defensive back Marvin Ross closes in on Washington Valor wide receiver Dezmon Epps during the Blackjacks’ 70-41 win at Capital One Arena in D.C. on Saturday, June 29. (John E. De Freitas/The Washington Informer) 4 Washington Valor defensive back Jabari Gorman dives to tackle Atlantic City Blackjacks wide receiver Antwane Grant during the Blackjacks’ 70-41 win at Capital One Arena in D.C. on Saturday, June 29. (John E. De Freitas/The Washington Informer)

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38 JULY 4 - 10, 2019

trans students the ability to use the bathroom of their choice. Despite reports from the Centers for Disease Control pointing to an increase of more than 50 percent of crimes based on sexual orientation over the last two years here in the District, those who claim membership as LGBTQ Americans, as well as those who stand beside them, adamantly refuse to allow the clock to be reversed after decades of struggle for equal rights, justice and sorely-needed protection under the law. Historians compare Stonewall and the acts of protest and defiance which followed to the Boston Tea Party – but more often they point to Rosa Parks’ refusal to move to the rear of a Montgomery, Alabama bus in 1955 – the catalyst for the modern Civil Rights Movement for Blacks – in their comparisons to equivalent moments in American history. Consider that in 1969, before Stonewall, gays and lesbians could be fired from their jobs if “outed,” evicted from their homes or refused as tenants in any dwellings, listed by name and address in newspapers or magazines once cited or arrested for “lewd acts” and routinely subjected to violence, even death, at the hands of both law enforcement or the public at large. Thus, their survival rested on their ability to remain invisible, hidden while always fearful of being discovered. With this as her conclusion, noted historian Lillian Faderman describes the Stonewall riots as the “shot heard round the world” as it served as the clarion

call for what has developed into today’s LGBTQ movement. The recent New York City parade marked the conclusion of a month-long series of Stonewall observances which included parties, rallies, films for viewing and reflection and a conference on human rights. It also coincided

The recent New York City parade marked the conclusion of a month-long series of Stonewall observances which included parties, rallies, films for viewing and reflection and a conference on human rights. with the international LGBTQ event, World Pride, which began in Rome in 2000 before moving to New York during the past week. As protesters marched throughout New York, they hoisted signs of liberation while shouting, “Whose streets? Our streets!” Meanwhile, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo (D) signed into law on Sunday legislation barring people who attack or kill a gay individual in the state from using the argument that their act of violence was precipitated after experiencing panic about their victim’s sexuality. Here in the Greater Washington Area, concern citizens have become outraged with transgen-

der residents becoming among the region’s most vulnerable members of the LGBTQ community after several have been murdered within the last few months. Just weeks ago, three teens, all residents of Fort Washington, would be arrested as suspects in the robbery and assault on a gay couple out on the town and on their way to Nellie’s – a popular gay sports bar in Northwest. The couple reports initially being verbally ridiculed with anti-gay slurs before being beaten and stripped of their belongings. Nationally, anti-LGBTQ hate crimes rose 3 percent in 2017 based on the FBI’s annual Hate Crime Statistics report. In the District, nearly 50 percent of the city’s total hate crimes in 2018 involved individuals targeted due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. Councilmember Robert White, in a recent press release, said these and similar acts of violence can no longer be tolerated. “No one should endure the terror of being targeted and attacked for being who they are,” he wrote. “Even at the LGBTQ community center Casa Ruby, where they should feel safest, transgender women were recently threatened by a man with a gun. So far this year, 10 transgender women have been violently killed in the U.S. – all were African American. We have not done enough to protect and support LGBTQ residents in the District. [We must] address [their] access to basic needs and services such as safe housing and mental health. We can do better to protect marginalized communities.” WI

REST IN PEACE FRED DICKERSON Fred Dickerson was born on November 24, 1931 and died on Wednesday, June 19, 2019. Fred was one of seven children born to Elbert and Beulah Dickerson.

Fred served in the United States Army and specialized in many trades. Although born in North Carolina, Fred spent most of his life beginning in his teenaged years in Washington, DC and was a proud Washingtonian. He loved sports and was a true fan of all the professional sports teams in the District, especially the Washington Nationals baseball team. He had a love-hate relationship with the Washington Redskins, and would often say, “Awww shoot, they ain’t gonna do nothing!” Nonetheless, he followed them faithfully every season. When he wasn’t watching sports, he enjoyed meeting new people, especially the ladies, and attending events at local entertainment establishments. He had the gift of gab and was not shy when it came to having a good time. He especially loved to give his nurses a run for their money. His other love was watching western movies and was such a huge fan of Clint Eastwood that he’d often quote him, watching his favorites over and over again. A proud veteran, he maintained values he learned while in the Army, living a life of loyalty, respect, courage, strength and honor. Fred cared deeply for his daughter Rita, his big head gal, and son Fred, Jr. also known as Little Engine. While we’re sad that he is no longer with us, Fred would want us to pour a drink and have a good time. Fred lived a full and great life and we should celebrate him as he would have wanted. Fred leaves behind to cherish his memory two loving children; son Frederick Darnelle Barnes and daughter Rita Alyce Dickerson (Rita D. Lewis; a granddaughter London Barnes; a grandson Christian Julian Garrett; and many others who loved him just as much. Fred was a free spirit who loved life! Even though he is no longer physically here with us, he will always remain in our hearts. We will miss you! The Family

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RELIGION the religion corner WITH LYNDIA GRANT

Dream, Dare, Do There are literally

millions of people who have dreamed dreams,

but they don’t even begin A dream is a sensation that occurs in a person’s mind during sleep. The best part about dreams is that they can and do come true. However, one must first dare to make that dream come true by doing exactly what has been shown to them during sleep. Thus my title, “Dream, Dare, Do!” There are literally millions of people who have dreamed dreams, but they don’t even begin to believe these dreams can become real. This column will actually show you the method. Let’s first go to scripture. Proverbs 18:21 (KJV) says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” Declare it so by saying a positive statement throughout the day. As you speak life, you will be creating it out in the universe, where the Holy Spirit, God and His Angels will hear you and they will begin to work on your behalf to bring it to fruition. The definition of the word “dare” is to have the courage to do something. Let’s say you saw yourself in a dream as your best self, best weight, best hair, best everything, yet once you awaken, Mt. Zion Baptist Church Reverend John W. Davis Pastor 5101 14th Street, NW Washington, DC 20011 Phone: 202-726-2220 Fax: 202-726-9089 Service and Times Sunday Worship Service - 8:00 a.m. & 11:00 a.m. Children’s Church - 11:00 a.m. (1st & 3rd Sundays) Communion - 10 a.m. 4th Sunday Sunday School - 9:15 a.m. (4th Sunday 8:15 a.m.) Prayer Meeting & Bible Study - Wednesday 7:00 p.m. “A Church with a past to remember – and a future to mold”

to believe these dreams can become real. This

column will actually show you the method.

you think, “it’s only a dream,” and you refuse to try. Please be careful how you grow your faith in your dream. The name on a car doesn’t determine the quality of that product, but it represents the material and the process of which that car was taken through. You’ve got to get to the heart of the matter. You’ve got to see, feel and believe in your dream. In fact, you’ve got to know. It’s called faith. Scripture reminds us how faith without works, is dead! Joseph, who wore the multi-colored coat, went through a process to become the man of God he was and also to see his dream come to pass. Most of us at one time or another have had a dream to do something big for God, but what can happen is our dream can be put to sleep or die in the midst of the process. Believe it or not, all of us are going through a process. What

can happen is we can let the process steal our dream. In the land of Canaan, there lived a man who had 12 sons. His favorite was Joseph. Joseph was a good boy and very clever. God spoke to Joseph in his dreams. Joseph told his brothers about his dreams: “I dreamed that we all had bundles of wheat. And your bundles bowed down to mine.” “I dreamed that the sun and the moon and the stars bowed down to me,” he said. Joseph’s brothers were jealous. “We will never bow down to Joseph,” they said. One day they sold Joseph to some men who were going to Egypt. Then they told their father that Joseph had been eaten by wild animals. Joseph’s father was very sad. Many years later, Joseph’s brothers went to Egypt to get food. Their families were starving because there was no food in Canaan. When they saw the man in charge of food, they all bowed. They didn’t know that he was their brother Joseph. Joseph’s dream had come true. Joseph invited his whole family to come to Egypt, where there was enough food for everyone. Joseph’s father was so happy. His favorite son was alive, and his family was saved. Dream, and believe what God has shown you, then be bold and dare to do it. Get that thing done by trusting God! WI

(301) 864-6070

www.jmlaw.net

(301) 864-6070

jmccollum@jmlaw.net

Mount Olivet Lutheran Church

John F. Johnson Reverend Dr. 1306 Vermont Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20005 Service and Times Divine Worship, Sunday 10:00 a.m. Communion 1st and 3rd Sunday “Friendliest Church in the City” Website: mountolivetdc.org Email: mtolivedc@gmail.com

www.mtzbcdc.org

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JULY 4 - 10, 2019 39

RELIGION The Miracle Center of Faith Missionary Baptist Church Bishop Michael C. Turner, Sr. Senior Pastor 9161 Hampton Overlook Capitol Heights, MD 20743 Phone: 301-350-2200 Fax: 301-499-8724

Service and Times Sunday Worship Times : 7:30 AM 7 10:00 AM Communion: 1st Sunday Sunday School: 9:00 AM Bible Study: Wednesday, 12 Noon Bible Study in homes: Tuesday 7:00 PM Website: www.themiraclecenterFMBC.com Email: Miraclecenterfmbs@gmail.com Motto: “We Walk by Faith, Not by Sight”

Blessed Word of Life Church

Pilgrim Baptist Church Rev. Louis B. Jones II Pastor 700 I Street, N.E. Washington, D.C. 20002 (202) 547-8849 Service and Times Worship Sundays: 7:30 & 11:00 AM 5th Sundays: 9:30 AM 3rd Sundays: Baptism & Holy Communion Prayer & Praise: Wednesdays @ Noon & 6:30 PM www.pilgrimbaptistdc.org

Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ

Church of Living Waters

Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church

Rev. Paul Carrette Senior Pastor

Rev. Dr. Michael E. Bell, Sr., Pastor

Rev. Dr. Alton W. Jordan Pastor

Reverend Dr. Calvin L. Matthews Senior Pastor

Harold Andrew Assistant Pastor

2498 Alabama Ave., SE - Washington D.C. 20020 Office: (202) 889-7296 Fax: (202) 889-2198 - www.acamec.org

800 I Street, NE - Washington, DC 20002 202-548-0707 - Fax No. 202-548-0703

4915 Wheeler Road Oxon Hill, MD 20745 301-894-6464

Service and Times Sunday Worship Services: 8:00am and 11:00 AM Sunday Church School - 9:15am & Sunday Adult Forum Bible Study 10:30 AM 2nd & 4th Monday Women’s Bible Study: 6:30 PM Tuesday Jr./Sr. Bible Study: 10:00 AM Tuesday Topical Bible Study: 6:30 PM Tuesday New Beginnings Bible Study: 6:30 PM Wednesday Pastoral Bible Study: 6:30 PM Wednesday Children’s Bible Study: 6:30 PM Thursday Men’s Bible Study: 6:30 PM Friday before 1st Sunday Praise & Worship Service: 6:30 PM Saturday Adult Bible Study: 10:00 AM “The Amazing, Awesome, Audacious Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church”

Service and Times Sunday Morning Worship: 11:00 AM Holy Communion: 1st Sunday Sunday School: 9:45 AM Men’s Monday Bible Study: 7:00 PM Wednesday Night Bible Study: 7:00 PM Women’s Ministry Bible Study: 3rd Friday -7:00 PM Computer Classes: Announced Family and Marital Counseling by appointment

1200 Isle of Patmos Plaza, Northeast Washington, DC 20018 Office: (202) 529-6767 - Fax: (202) 526-1661

Service and Times Sunday Service: 8:30am& 11:00 AM Bible Study: Wednesday 7:30 PM Communion Service: First Sunday www.livingwatersmd.org

St. Stephen Baptist Church

Third Street Church of God

Dr. Dekontee L. & Dr. Ayele A. Johnson Pastors

Rev. Dr. Alice Greene Interim Pastor

Bishop Lanier C. Twyman, Sr. Senior Pastor

Rev. Cheryl J. Sanders, Th.D. Senior Pastor

4001 14th Street, NW Washington, DC 20011 (202) 265-6147 Office 1-800 576-1047 Voicemail/Fax

3845 South Capitol Street Washington, DC 20032 (202) 562-5576 (Office) (202) 562-4219 (Fax)

1204 Third Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 202-347-5889 office 202-638-1803 fax

Service and Times Sunday School: 9:30 AM Sunday Morning Worship Service: 11:00 AM Communion Service: First Sunday Prayer Service/Bible Study: Tuesday, 6:30 PM

Services and Times Sundays: 10:00am Worship Services Bible Study: Wonderful Wednesdays in Worship and the Word Bible Study Wednesdays 12:00 Noon; 6:30 PM (dinner @ 5:30 PM) Sunday School: 9:00 AM – Hour of Power

5757 Temple Hill Road, Temple Hills, MD 20748 Office 301-899-8885 – fax 301-899-2555 Services and Times Sunday Early Morning Worship: 7:45 AM Church School: 9:30 AM Sunday Morning Worship: 10:45 AM Tuesday: 7:00pm/Kingdom Building Bible Institute Wednesday , 12:30 PM Mid-Day Bible Study Wednesday: Prayer/Praise/Bible Study-7:30 PM Baptism & Communion Service: 4th Sunday – 10:30 AM

www.blessedwordoflifechurch.org E-mail: church@blessedwordoflifechurch.org

Campbell AME Church Rev. Dr. Henry Y. White 2562 MLK Jr. Ave., SE - Washington, DC 20020 Adm. Office 202-678-2263 Email: Campbell@mycame.org Service and Times Sunday Worship Service: 10:00 AM Sunday Church School: 8:45 AM Bible Study Wednesday: 12:00 Noon Wednesday: 7:00 PM Thursday: 7:00 PM “Reaching Up To Reach Out” Mailing Address Campbell AME Church 2502 Stanton Road SE - Washington, DC 20020

Turning Hearts Church Virgil K. Thomas, Sr. Senior Pastor/ Teacher 421 Alabama Ave. SE Washington, DC 20032 Phone: 202-746-0113 Fax: 301-843-2445 Service and Times Sunday School: 10:15 AM Sunday Worship Service: 11;15 AM Children’s Church: 11:15 AM Tuesday Bible Study: 6:30 PM Motto : “A Great Commitment to the Great Commandment” Website: www.turningheartschurchdc.org Email: gr8luv4u2@gmail.com

40 JULY 4 - 10, 2019

“An inclusive ministry where all are welcomed and affirmed.” www.covenantdc.org

“We are one in the Spirit” www.ssbc5757.org E-mail: ssbc5757@verizon.net

Services and Times Sunday School: 9:30 AM Sunday Worship: 11:00 AM Sunday Community Worship Service: 8:30 AM “Ambassadors for Christ to the Nation’s Capital” www.thirdstreet.org Live Stream Sunday Worship Service begins @ 12:00 noon www.thirdstreet.org

Crusader Baptist Church

E-mail: Crusadersbaptistchurch@verizon.net www.CrusadersBaptistChurch.org “God is Love”

Greater Mt. Calvary Holy Church Bishop Alfred A. Owens, Jr.; Senior Bishop & Evangelist Susie C. Owens – Co-Pastor 610 Rhode Island Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002 (202) 529-4547 office • (202) 529-4495 fax

Sunday Worship Service: 8:00 AM and 10:45 AM Sunday Youth Worship Services: 1st & 4th 10:45 AM; 804 R.I. Ave., NE 5th 8 AM & 10:45 AM; Main Church Prayer Services Tuesday – Noon, Wednesday 6:00 AM & 6:30 PM Calvary Bible Institute: Year-Round Contact Church Communion Every 3rd Sunday The Church in The Hood that will do you Good! www.gmchc.org emailus@gmchc.org

Isle of Patmos Baptist Church

Service and Times Sunday Worship Services: 7:30 AM and 10:30 AM Holy Communion: 2nd Sunday at 7:30 AM and 10:30 AM Sunday Church School: 9:20 AM Seniors Bible Study: Tuesdays at 10:30 AM Noon Day Prayer Service: Tuesdays at Noon Bible Study: Tuesdays at 7 PM Motto: “A Ministry of Reconciliation Where Everybody is Somebody!” Website: http://isleofpatmosbc.org Church Email: ipbcsecretary@verizon.net

St Marks Baptist Come Worship with us... Dr. Raymond T. Matthews Pastor and First Lady Marcia Matthews St. Mark's Baptist Church 624 Underwood Street, NW Washington, dc 20011 Services and Times Sunday School: 9:00 AM Worship Service: 10:00 AM Wed. Noon Day prayer service Thur. Prayer service: 6:45 PM Thur. Bible Study: 7:15 PM

Twelfth Street Christian Church Reverend Dr. Paul H. Saddler Senior Pastor (Disciples of Christ) 1812 12th Street, NW - Washington, DC 20009 Phone: 202-265-4494 Fax: 202 265 4340 Service and Times Sunday Worship Service: 11:00 AM Communion every Sunday: 11:00 AM Sunday School: 10:00 AM Bible Study Tuesday: 12 Noon Pastor’s Bible Study Tuesday: 6:30 PM Motto: “Discover Something Wonderful” Website: 12thscc.org Email: Twelfthstcc@aol.com

Mount Carmel Baptist Church

901 Third Street N.W. Washington, DC. 20001 Phone (202) 842-3411 Fax (202) 682-9423 Service and Times Sunday Church School : 9:00 AM Sunday Morning Worship: 10:10 AM Bible Study Tuesday: 6: 00 PM Prayer Service Tuesday: 7:00 PM Holy Communion: 3rd Sunday 10:10 AM themcbc.org

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RELIGION Shabbath Commandment Church

All Nations Baptist Church

King Emmanuel Baptist Church

Bishop Adrian A. Taylor, Sr. Pastor

Rev. Dr. James Coleman Pastor

Rev. Daryl F. Bell Pastor

7801 Livingston Road Oxon Hill, MD 20745 301-534-5471

2001 North Capitol St, N.E. - Washington, DC 20002 Phone (202) 832-9591

2324 Ontario Road, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 232-1730

Service and Times Sabbath School 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 AM Service 11:00 AM Praise & Worship Preaching 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM Motto: “A Church Keeping It Real for Real.” Website: Shabbathcommandmentchruch.org Email: Praisebetoyhwh@gmail.com

Zion Baptist Church Rev. Keith W. Byrd, Sr. Pastor 4850 Blagdon Ave, NW - Washington D.C 20011 Phone (202) 722-4940 - Fax (202) 291-3773 Service and Times Sunday Worship Service: 10:15 AM Sunday School: 9:00 AM Monday: Noon Bible School Wednesday: Noon & 7 PM Pastor’s Bible Study Ordinance of Baptism 2nd Holy Communion 4th Sunday Mission Zion Baptist Church Shall; Enlist Sinners, Educate Students, Empower the Suffering, Encourage the Saints, and Exalt Our Savior. (Acts 2:41-47) www.zionbaptistchurchdc.org

St. Luke Baptist Church Rev. Aubrey C. Lewis Pastor 1415 Gallatin Street, NW Washington, DC 20011-3851 P: (202) 726-5940 Service and Times Sunday Worship: 11:00 AM Sunday School: 9:15 AM Holy Communion: 11:00 a.m., 3rd Sun. Bible Institute: Wednesday - 1:30 PM Prayer Meeting: Wednesday - 12:00 Noon

Service and Times Sunday Church School – 9:30 AM Sunday Worship Service – 11:00 AM Holy Communion – 1st Sunday at 11:00 AM Prayer – Wednesdays, 6:00 PM Bible Study – Wednesdays, 7:00 PM Christian Education School of Biblical Knowledge Saturdays, 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM, Call for Registration Website: www.allnationsbaptistchurch.com All Nations Baptist Church – A Church of Standards

Israel Baptist Church

Dr. Earl D. Trent Senior Pastor

Rev. Dr. George C. Gilbert Senior Pastor

2409 Ainger Pl.,SE – WDC 20020 (202) 678-0884 – Office • (202) 678-0885 – Fax “Moving Faith Forward” 0% Perfect . . . 100% Forgiven!

623 Florida Ave.. NW - WDC. 20001 Church (202) 667-3409 Study (202) 265-0836 Home Study (301) 464-8211 Fax (202) 483-4009

4504 Gault Place, N.E. Washington, D.C 20019 202-397-7775 – 7184

Service and Times Sunday Worship: 8:00 AM & 10:45 AM Baptism/Holy Communion: 3rd Sunday Family Bible Study Tuesdays – 6:30 PM Prayer Service: Tuesdays – 8:00 PM www.emmanuelbaptistchurchdc.org

“Where Jesus is the King”

Sermon On The Mount Temple Of Joy Apostolic Faith

Lincoln Park United Methodist Church Rev. Richard B. Black Pastor

Elder Herman L. Simms Pastor

1251 Saratoga Ave., NE Washington, DC 20018 (202) 269-0288

1301 North Carolina Ave. N E Washington, D C 20002 202 543 1318 - lincolnpark@lpumcdc.org www.lpumcdc.org

5606 Marlboro Pike District Heights, MD 20747 301-735-6005

Service and Times Sunday Worship Service: 10:45 AM Sunday School: 9:15 AM Holy Communion1st Sunday: 10:45 AM Prayer Service: Wednesday at 6:30 PM Bible Study: Wednesday at 7:00 PM Bible Study: Tuesday at 10:30 AM

Mount Moriah Baptist Church

Service and Times Sunday Worship: 10:00 AM Holy Communion: First Sunday 10:00 AM Sunday School: 9:00 AM Bible Study: Wednesday @ 12 noon and 6:30 PM Motto: "Faith On The Hill"

Service and Times Sunday Apostolic Worship Services 11:00 A.M and 5:00 PM Communion and Feet Wash 4th Sunday at 5:00 PM Prayer/Seeking: Wednesday at 8:00 PM Apostolic in Doctrine, Pentecostal in Experience, Holiness in Living, Uncompromised and Unchanged. The Apostolic Faith is still alive –Acts 2:42

New Commandment Baptist Church

Eastern Community Baptist Church

Dr. Lucius M. Dalton Senior Pastor

Damion M. Briggs Pastor

1636 East Capitol Street, NE Washington, DC 20003 Telephone: 202-544-5588 - Fax: 202-544-2964

8213 Manson Street Landover, MD 20785 Tel: (301) 322-9787 Fax: (301) 322-9240

13701 Old Jericho Park Road Bowie, MD. 20720 (301) 262-0560

Service and Times Sunday Worship Services: 7:45 AM and 10:45 AM Holy Communion: 1st Sundays at 7:45 AM & 10:45 AM Sunday School: 9:30 AM Prayer & Praise Service: Tuesdays at 12 noon & 6:30 PM Bible Study: Tuesdays at 1 pm and 7 PM Youth Bible Study: Fridays at 7 PM

Service and Times Early Morning Message: 7:30 AM Sunday Morning Worship Service: 10:00 AM Sunday Church School: 9:00 AM Holy Communion: 1st Sunday 7:30 AM & 10:00 AM Prayer, Praise and Testimony: Wednesday 7:00 PM Bible Study: Wednesday 7:30 PM

Service and Times Sunday Worship: 11 AM Sunday School: 10 AM Wednesday Mid-Week Worship, Prayer & Bible Study: Wed. 7 PM

Rehoboth Baptist Church

Rev. Dr. Maxwell M. Washington Pastor

Rev. Curtis l. Staley Pastor

2001 Brooks Drive District Heights, MD 20744 (240) 838-7074

621 Alabama Ave., S.E.- Washington, D.C. 20032 P: (202) 561-1111 - F: (202) 561-1112

Service and Times Sunday Worship Service: 10:15 AM Sunday School: 9:00 AM Holy Communion: 3rd Sunday Morning Prayer Meeting / Bible Study: Tuesday at 7 PM Theme: “The Kingdom Focused Church with an Emphasis on “Evangelism and Discipleship”

Service and Times Sunday Service: 10:00 AM Sunday School for all ages: 8:30 AM 1st Sunday Baptism: 10:00 AM 2nd Sunday Holy Communion:10:00 AM Tuesday: Bible Study: 6:30 PM Prayer Meeting: 7:45 PM

Email: pastorstmbc@gmail.com Website: www.stmatthewsbaptist.org

Motto: “Where God is First and Where Friendly People Worship”

“Real Worship for Real People” Website: www.easterncommunity.org Email: ecc@easterncommunity.org

Rev. Stephen E. Tucker Senior Pastor

“A Church Where Love Is Essential and Praise is Intentional”

Foggy Bottom - Founded in 1867 728 23rd Street, NW - Washington, DC 20037 Church office: 202-333-3985 - Fax : 202-338-4958

Shiloh Baptist Church

Matthews Memorial Baptist Church Dr. Joseph D. Turner Senior Pastor 2616 MLK Ave., SE - Washington, DC 20020 Office 202-889-3709 - Fax 202-678-3304 Service and Times Early Worship Service: 8:00 AM Worship Service: 11:00 AM New Member’s Class: 9:45 AM Holy Communion: 1st Sunday, 11:00 AM Church School: 9:45 AM Wednesday 12:00pm Bible Study Prayer, Praise and Bible Study: 7:00 PM Saturday Bible Study: 11:00 AM Baptism 4th Sunday: 11:00 AM

Christ Embassy DC

Kelechi Ajieren Coordinator 6839 Eastern Avenue, R1 Takoma Park, MD 20912 (202) 556-7065 Service and Times Sunday Worship Service: 10:00 AM Wednesday Bible Study: 7:00 PM Friday Evening Service: 7:00 PM ; Last Friday “…Giving Your Life a Meaning” www.Christembassydc.org Christ.embassy.dc@hotmail.com

“Empowered to love and Challenged to Lead a Multitude of Souls to Christ”

Peace Baptist Church Rev. Dr. Michael T. Bell 712 18th Street, NE Washington, DC 20002 Phone 202-399-3450/ Fax 202-398-8836 Service and Times Sunday Early Morning Prayer & Bible Study Class: 8:00 AM Sunday School: 9:00 AM Sunday Morning Worship Service: 10:00 AM Wednesday Service: 12:00 PM

Pennsylvania Ave. Baptist Church Rev. Dr. Kendrick E. Curry Pastor 3000 Pennsylvania Ave.. S.E Washington, DC 20020 202 581-1500 Service and Times Sunday Church School: 9:30 AM Sunday Worship Service: 11:00 AM Monday Adult Bible Study: 7:00 PM Wednesday Youth & Adult Activities: 6:30 PM Prayer Service Bible Study

“The Loving Church of the living lord “

First Rising Mt. Zion Baptist Church

Mt. Horeb Baptist Church

Rev. Dr. Wallace Charles Smith Pastor

Rev. Oran W. Young Pastor

Rev. Dr. H. B. Sampson, III Pastor

9th & P Street, N.W. - W. D.C. 20001 (202) 232-4288

602 N Street NW - Washington, D.C. 20001 Office:(202) 289-4480 Fax: (202) 289-4595

2914 Bladensburg Road, NE Wash., DC 20018 Office: (202) 529-3180 - Fax: (202) 529-7738 Service and Times Worship Service: 7:30 AM Sunday School: 9:00 AM Worship Service: 10:30 AM Holy Communion: 4th Sunday 7:30AM & 10:30 AM Prayer Services:Tuesday 7:30 PM. Wednesday 12 Noon

www.stmarysfoggybottom.org Email: stmarysoffice@stmarysfoggybottom.org

Service and Times First Sunday Worship Service (one service): 10:00 AM Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Sunday Worship service: 7:45 AM and 10:55 AM Sunday Church School/Bible Study: 9:30 AM Thursday Prayer Service: 6:30 PM

All are welcome to St. Mary’s to Learn, Worship, and Grow.

Email: sbc@shilohbaptist.org Website: shilohbaptist.org

Service and Times Sundays: 10 a.m. Holy Eucharist with Music and Hymns Wednesdays: 12:10 p.m. - Holy Eucharist

Service and Times Sunday Worship Services: 10:00 AM Sunday Church School: 8:45 – 9:45 AM Holy Communion: Every First Sunday Intercessory Prayer: Monday – 7:00-8:00 PM Pastor’s Bible Study: Wednesday –7:45 PM Midweek Prayer: Wednesday – 7:00 PM Noonday Prayer Every Thursday

Service and Times Sunday Church School: 9:30 AM Sunday Worship Service : 11:00 AM The Lord’s Supper 1st Sunday Prayer & Praise Services: Wednesday 7:00 PM Bible Study: 7:30 PM Saturday before 4th Sunday Men, Women, Youth Discipleship Ministries: 10:30 AM A Christ Centered Church htubc@comcast.net

Email Address: admin@pbc712.org

Historic St. Mary’s Episcopal Church The Rev. E. Bernard Anderson Priest

Holy Trinity United Baptist Church

Florida Avenue Baptist Church

Reverend Christopher L. Nichols Pastor

Rev. Reginald M. Green Interim Pastor

Web: www.mountmoriahchurch.org Email: mtmoriah@mountmoriahchurch.org

St. Matthews Baptist Church

Service and Times Sunday School: 9:30 AM Sunday Worship Service: 11:00 AM Baptismal Service: 1st Sunday – 9:30 AM Holy Communion: 1st Sunday – 11:00 AM Prayer Meeting & Bible Study: Wednesday -7:30 PM

Emmanuel Baptist Church

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Service and Times Sunday School for All Ages: 8:00 AM Sunday Worship Services: 9:30 AM Midday Prayer & Bible Study: Wednesday 11:30AM Evening Prayer & Bible Study: Wednesday 7:00 PM Laymen's League: Thursday 7:00 PM Email: Froffice@firstrising.org Website: www.firstrising.org “Changing Lives On Purpose “

Email:mthoreb@mthoreb.org Website:www.mthoreb.org For further information, please contact me at (202) 529-3180.

JULY 4 - 10, 2019 41

LEGAL NOTICES SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2019 ADM 559 Willie R. McDuffie Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Phyllis McDuffie, whose address is 1219 Emerson St. NE, Washington, DC 20017, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Willie R. McDuffie who died on November 1, 2011 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 12/20/2019. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 12/20/2019, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship. Date of first publication: 6/20/2019 Phyllis McDuffie Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY Anne Meister Register of Wills Washington Informer

LEGAL NOTICES SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2019 ADM 000471 Harris L. Wofford Decedent Jane C. Bergner, Esq. 1776 K Street, NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20006 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Daniel B. Wofford, David G. Wofford, Susanne L. Wofford and Matthew Charlton, whose addresses are 61 S. Marion Ave., Bryn Mawr, PA 19010, 1913 Morrison St., NW, WDC, 20015, 37 Washington St. W, apt 17A, New York, NY 10011, and 9555 26th St., NW, WDC 20037, were appointed Personal Representatives of the estate of Harris L. Wofford who died on January 21, 2019 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 12/20/2019. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 12/20/2019, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship. Date of first publication: 6/20/2019 Daniel B. Wofford, David G. Wofford, Susanne L. Wofford and Matthew Charlton Personal Representatives TRUE TEST COPY

Tammy L. Landon aka Tammy Lee Landon aka Tammy Lee Jacobson-Landon Name of Deceased Settlor NOTICE OF EXISTENCE OF REVOCABLE TRUST Tammy L. Landon aka Tammy Kee Landon aka Tammy Lee Jacobson-Landon, whose address was 2201 N Street, NW, Apt. 215, Washington, DC 20037 created a revocable trust on December 1, 2014, which remained in existence on the date of death on February 21, 2019, and Trustee Stephanie Ann Jacobson-Landon, whose address is 2201 N Street, NW, Apt. 215, Washington, DC 20037, is the currently acting trustee, hereinafter the Trustee. Communications to the Trust should be mailed or directed to the following: Stephanie Ann Jacobson-Landon at 2201 N Street, NW, Apt. 215, Washington, DC 20037. The Trust is subject to claims of the deceased settlor’s creditors, costs of administration of the settlor’s estate, the expense of the deceased settlor’s funeral and disposal of remains, and statutory allowances to a surviving spouse and children to the extent the deceased settlor’s residuary probate estate is inadequate to satisfy those claims, costs, expenses, and allowances. Claims of the deceased settlor’s creditors are barred as against the Trustee and the trust property unless presented to the Trustee at the address provided herein on or before 12/20/2019 (6 month after the date of the first publication of this notice.) An action to contest the validity of this trust must be commenced by the earliest of (1), 2/21/2020 (One year from date of death of deceased settlor) (2), 12/20/2019 ( 6 months from the date of first publication of this notice) or (3) Ninety days after the Trustee sends the person a copy of the trust instrument and a notice informing the person of the trust’s existence, of the Trustee’s name and address, and of the time allowed for commencing a proceeding. The Trustee may proceed to distribute the trust property in accordance with the terms of the trust before the expiration of the time within which an action must be commenced unless the Trustee knows of a pending judicial proceeding contesting the validity of the trust or the Trustee has received notice from a potential contestant who thereafter commences a judicial proceeding within sixty days after notification. This Notice must be mailed postmarked within 15 days of its first publication to each heir and qualified beneficiary of the trust and any other person who would be an interested person within the meaning of D.C. Code 20-101(d).

Administration No. 2019 ADM 627

Foreign No. 2019 FEP 63

Anthony Naylor Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS De Maris Lowery, whose address is 601 L St., Unit 2001, SE, Washington, DC 20003, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Anthony Naylor who died on April 13, 2019 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 12/27/2019. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 12/27/2019, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship. Date of first publication: 6/27/2019 De Maris Lowery Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY

November 9, 2008 Date of Death Chester V. McKenzie Name of Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS Francis X. Borgerding, Jr., whose address is 408 Washington, Ave., #600, Towson, MD 21204 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Chester V. McKenzie, deceased, by the Orphans Court for Prince Georges County, State of Maryland, on July 2, 2015. Service of process may be made upon Edward J. Cordone, 7325 Georgia Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20012 whose designation as District of Columbia agent has been filed with the Register of Wills, D.C. The decedent owned the following District of Columbia real estate. 1841 T Place, SE, Washington, DC 20020. Claims against the decedent may be presented to the undersigned and filed with the Register of Wills of the District of Columbia, 515 5th Street, NW, Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001 within 6 months from the date of first publication of this notice. Date of first publication: 6/27/2019 Francis X. Borgerding, Jr. Personal Representative

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2019 ADM 000623 Ivy Brooks Decedent Tina Smith Nelson Legal Counsel for the Elderly 601 E Street, NW Washington, DC 20019 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS Marcellene Britt, whose address is 5037 Blaine Street, NE, Washington, DC 20019, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Ivy Brooks who died on February 8, 1983 without a Will, and will serve with Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 12/27/2019. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 12/27/2019, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship. Date of first publication: 6/27/2019 Marcellene Britt Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY

Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

Administration No. 2019 ADM 562

Administration No. 2019 ADM 000593

Administration No. 2019 ADM 000624

Administration No. 2019 ADM 000416

Tammy L. Landon aka Tammy Lee Landon aka Tammy Lee Jacobson-Landon Decedent

James H. McRae Decedent

John Francis Wilkinson IV Decedent

Anne Lee Malone Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Tina Smith Nelson 601 E Street, NW Washington, DC 20049 Attorney

Kisha L Woolen, Esquire Tobin O’Connor & Ewing 5335 Wisconsin Ave., NW, #700 Washington, DC 20015 Attorney

Valerie J. Edwards 1725 DeSales Street, NW Suite 600 Washington, DC 20036 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Deborah A. Brown, whose address is 4404 Kane Place, NE, Washington, DC 20019, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of James H. McRae who died on 2/15/2019 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 12/27/2019. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 12/27/2019, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Anne Meister Register of Wills

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Date of first publication: 6/27/2019

Leatha Wilkinson, whose address is 5224 Ames St., NE, Washington, DC 20019, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of John Francis Wilkinson IV who died on October 24, 2011 without a Will, and will serve with Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 12/27/2019. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 12/27/2019, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Deborah A. Brown Personal Representative

Date of first publication: 6/27/2019

Date of first publication: 6/20/2019

TRUE TEST COPY

Leatha Wilkinson Personal Representative

Kim B. Panchana Personal Representative

Stephanie Ann Jacobson-Landon Personal Representative

Anne Meister Register of Wills

TRUE TEST COPY

Washington Informer

Anne Meister Register of Wills

Washington Informer

Stephanie Ann Jacobson-Landon, whose address is 2201 N Street, NW, Apt 215, Washington, DC 20037, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Tammy L. Landon aka Tammy Lee Landon aka Tammy Lee Jacobson-Landon who died on February 21, 2019 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 12/20/2019. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 12/20/2019, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

TRUE TEST COPY

Stephanie Ann Jacobson-Landon Signature of Trustee

Anne Meister Register of Wills

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

Washington Informer

Date of First Publication: 6/20/2019

TRUE TEST COPY

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

LEGAL NOTICES

Anne Meister Register of Wills

Washington Informer

Trust No. 2019 NRT 22

LEGAL NOTICES

Anne Meister Register of Wills

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION

LEGAL NOTICES

Kim B. Panchana, whose address is 517 Denham Arch, Chesapeake VA, 23322, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Anne Lee Malone who died on January 31, 2019 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 12/27/2019. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 12/27/2019, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Washington Informer

42 JULY 4 - 10, 2019

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JULY 4 - 10, 2019 43

CHANDELIERS from Page 31 “My father was one of 13 children born into a world of segregation – a system that resulted in the same kind of inequality on Blacks that gentrification does today,” she said. “His education was so inadequate that he dropped out after the eighth grade to join the National Guard after securing his parents’ permission where he became an MP.” “After completing his service to his country, including time in Germany, he returned to the District, married, began to raise a family and prepared himself for a career as a police officer. He passed the test and waited for a call. But in those days, they didn’t hire Blacks. When he was hired at the White House, he often said he believed it was his destiny, ordained by God.” “He taught us that we must always strive to be the best we can – that was his life’s motto. And he refused to make excuses because of the inferior education that he’d been provided. He told us that a person could learn a trade and do just as well in providing for themselves or their family.” “I know some wonder why I wrote this play and question why his story would even be interesting to others. I believe just hearing the experiences he had with presidents of the U.S., ambassadors, entertainers like Pearl Bailey and so many other icons in the Black community will make people sit on the edge of their seats. Dad has always been a humble man and proud of his humble beginnings. Still, he worked long

MARIJUANA from Page 12

5 A recent photo of the children of Stewart and Marie Stevens. (Photo courtesy Lynetta Stevens)

hours, overtime often, to make sure we had everything we needed – and most of the things we wanted. My mother never had to work.” “Sure, we know the stories about Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and folks like that. But there are tales equally important about common people – every day, ordinary people like my father – who have lived extraordinary lives and whose commitment to excellence and dedication to an honest way of life can serve as an example for today’s youth.” “He’s still my greatest inspiration and I believe he will inspire those who take the time to witness our tell-

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ing of his amazing journey,” she said. For tickets, visit www.WHChandeliers.eventbrite.com or call 571-4883495. WI

JACKSON from Page 26 self, allegedly because he thought a bombing strike that might kill hundreds of Iranians was “disproportionate.” Hopefully, it was also because he remembered his campaign promise, and his sensible instinct that beginning another war in the Middle East would be catastrophic. Trump has targeted immigrants from the beginning of his campaign, libeling those seeking asylum, implementing truly grotesque policies that rip children from their parents and cage them in unspeakable conditions. He vetoed the bipartisan immigration reform that Congress passed. Now he is ratcheting up the rhetoric for election purposes. When White House advisers like Stephen Miller reportedly pushed for mass deportations, the president suddenly announced they would begin, and then just as suddenly agreed to postpone them. He may have postponed them simply because the bureaucracy wasn’t ready to act. In any case, the decision was the right one. The faceoff with Iran continues.

ijuana and assess business ventures through several formats: criminal justice, public health, taxing and licensing and minority participation. Since December 2017, the state received $177.6 million in dispensary sales. So far this year through May, it’s nearly $86 million. So far, about 77 dispensaries have received licenses statewide. The commission approved five more Thursday, June 27 during a meeting in Annapolis. Another six companies received extensions to open up operations that include two in Prince George’s and Anne Arundel counties and one in Baltimore City. From a legal perspective, states can manage cannabis businesses based on a federal government appropriations rider, or a provision that protects states from federal oversight. Although marijuana use remains illegal under the Controlled Substance Act, the federal government cannot require state and local governments to enforce federal law. The White House announced it has launched a cyberattack, will continue to punish Iranians with economic sanctions and is considering various covert ways to strike Iran. The conflict will escalate unless Trump follows the decision not to bomb with a clear plan of action that de-escalates the tension and finds a way back to the negotiating table. On the border, Trump only postponed the threat of mass deportations. He clearly wants to make immigrants a target once more in his reelection campaign. What would make sense is to convene the governments of our neighbors to the south and create a multilateral plan for humanitarian relief and economic development that would alleviate the desperation that forces families to leave their villages and come north. Without comprehensive immigration reform, Trump’s sudden act of common sense will soon be forgotten. In both cases, Trump’s policies are likely to make things worse rather than better. But at least, in this instance, he chose not to follow the ruinous advice of his aides and supporters. At least that is encouraging. WI

Without comprehensive immigration reform, Trump’s sudden act of common sense will soon be forgotten.

Matthew Swinburne, associate director of Network for Public Health Law-Eastern Region of Baltimore, attended the lawmakers’ first workgroup session June 25 to briefly explain the rider provision has been renewed every year through an appropriations bill since 2014. This year’s restriction expires Sept. 30. Swinburne, whose organization provides legal and policy assistance on federal and state health laws, said the federal government focuses on marijuana prevention on items such as: marijuana transferring from a particular state; revenue for criminal activity; distribution to minors; and growing on federal property and other public lands. Del. Jay Walker (D-District 26) of Fort Washington asked whether the federal government could go after states for recreational use. “There could be federal action against recreational use,” Swinburne said, adding it would require vast federal enforcement resources to conduct that task. WI

BUSINESS from Page 15

fecting the African continent. “I watched my non-Black colleagues from Oxford who possessed degrees in comparable disciplines, such as Latin American studies, Russian and East European studies, get positions at the same prominent institutions I sought to make my mark in,” Gillo said. “It wouldn’t be long before some of those same non-Black, non-African Studies majors would be given leadership roles within Africa divisions at world-renowned organizations with considerable decision-making power when it comes to Africa’s future. “Such salient bias made me hyper-aware of that which prior to I had known nothing about — employment discrimination,” she said. Key components to building wealth and closing the wealth gap are homeownership and high-quality jobs that pay a living wage, Gebriel wrote in the report. To promote greater wealth development among low-income residents, the city should continue to offer down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers and examine other barriers that may be keeping Black and Latinx residents from becoming homeowners. “The District can do this by integrating higher wages and better working conditions into development projects to protect lowskilled workers and low-income residents, and embracing strategic enforcement of labor laws to ensure that low-wage workers are not exploited by their employers and receive the pay they earned,” she said. WI

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REYNOLDS from Page 26

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you would use the power of your office to make similar demand. Again, for the record, Macedonia Baptist Church and BACC are fully committed to the goals of providing affordable housing to residents of Montgomery County. It is MBS’s divine duty to champion the cause of the “least of these.” With respect to our visit to the Westwood Towers garage, the group consisted of yourself, your special assistant, Ms. Debbie Spielberg, Ms. Shauna Sorrells of HOC, Dr. Tim Willard of BACC, two civil engineers and I. The goal was to explore the feasibility of designing alternate access to the HOC multi-level unconnected garage space to prevent further desecration of and ensure the conveyance of the cemetery for memorialization and not to provide a working design. What other rationale would interest us in the proposing alternate access into the HOC parking garage? Truthfully, HOC does not need me to assist them with design alternatives and cost parameter to ameliorate their building access dilemma. They have the means to address the issue without our involvement. Regency Centers had suggested a visit to the garage with a view to address the disjointed access problem. It would seem our good-faith effort to find a way forward is now being used against us! WI

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office, I had decided your delay in convening the meeting that you promised seven months ago, between the parties to resolve the Moses African Cemetery crisis, was due to the budget process or the pressure of your new position. I decided to respond openly to set the record straight in view of your public mischaracterization of our interactions with regard to Moses Cemetery. However, because of this erroneous statement, I now question whether you ever intended to call the meeting in the first place. At the end of the day, you are engaging in dog whistling by your attempt to blame the church, our community and me for your inaction. Your statement discredits the efforts of the very community that launched the social movement to bestow dignity and honor upon people that the county has described as “alleged” and quite content to allow the desecration of their memories and bury their history under a parking lot. Kidnapped African citizens that were enslaved for upwards of 150 years in “death camps” in Montgomery County and the once-vibrant River Road African community deserve to have their lives recognized. To further link the memorialization of Moses Cemetery to affordable housing is beyond

the pale. This hearkens back to the absurdity of some who had claimed we advocated for the demolition of the Westwood Tower to make room for memorialization of Moses Cemetery. What insanity and ignorance would conjure up such falsity! For you to suggest that a proposed remedy to the garage access will “make that building unavailable to residents who need affordable housing” is ludicrous and you know it. Nothing intended or proposed by us would have hindered residents from accessing their dwelling. You will also recall that HOC senior management, Ms. Shauna Sorrels and Mr. Stacy Spann, have both requested that you convene a tripartite meeting between the county, HOC and MBC. To my increasing dismay, your ignoring all three principals in this matter tends to confer legitimacy to the pervasive rumor currently circulating that you have ulterior motives for delaying this most necessary meeting — you have alternate plans to put an African Museum in downtown Bethesda. As for your concern for affordable housing, may I remind you that the HOC building (Westwood Towers) only offers 43 affordable units out of 212 units; you should and must in “good conscience” demand that HOC double the number of affordable units in Westwood Towers. We have made the call and hope

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ADEBAYO from Page 26

The long list includes orchestrating the jailing and deportation of the fiery Jamaican leader Marcus Garvey, bugging and blackballing the great singer Paul Robeson, the ruthless assault on the Black Panthers and the well-documented COINTELPRO, the FBI program waged in the 1960’s to prevent the rise of a Black “Messiah,” generally thought to be Dr. King. Over the years, Mrs. King has defended her husband’s reputation, attesting he was faithful to his marriage. Others, however, such as Carson, a historian, do not put King in a category of perfection. “There are no perfect men, but it is still wrong to use undocumented, tainted evidence to smear a man when history shows that many men with documented sordid private lives, still remain heroes,” Carson said. While the scandal is brewing, the words of Mrs. King are worth remembering: They may kill the dreamer, but Dr. King’s dream of diversity and justice will outlive his enemies. WI

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was four layers removed from the actual recording. This supposedly new information comes from an anonymous source in a single paragraph in an FBI report. You have to ask how could anyone conclude King looked at a rape from an audio recording in a room where he was not present.” In my Coretta King memoir, “My Life, My Love, My Legacy,” she talked about this material mailed to her home on Nov. 2, 1964, that her sources later confirmed were dispatched by the FBI: “I set up our reel-to-reel recorder and listened. I have read scores of reports talking about the scurrilous activities of my husband but once again, there was nothing at all incriminating on the tape. It was a social event with people laughing and telling dirty jokes. But I did not hear Martin’s voice on it, and there was nothing about sex or anything else resembling the lies J. Edgar and the FBI were spreading.” Although she and other aides dismissed the tape, she could not dismiss the poorly typed letter in

the package, suggesting the information to be released to the press was so damaging King should commit suicide. It read: “King we’ve found you out... You are done for there is only one way out.. You have thirty-four days before you are exposed and publicly defamed.” What should be made clear is the letter was sent 34 days before Martin was to receive the Nobel Peace Prize but was not opened until the couple returned from the Nobel ceremonies in Norway. Mrs. King said that Hoover hated Dr. King and was outraged that King was receiving the honor he felt he deserved. “Our source told us Hoover had ordered the doctored tape to be sent to me in the hopes I would divorce Martin, which would bring him down,” she said. “Despite all the rumors, Martin and I did not take the bait.” Believing the FBI is a friend of Black people would require amnesia as the agency has historically worked to nullify and destroy Black leaders, author Anthony Summers said in his Hoover biography, “Official and Confidential.”

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CROWELL from Page 27

the Center for Responsible Lending. “According to the report, only 43% of Blacks and 47% of Latinx own their own home, while white homeownership remains at 73%. “This 30% disparity deserves further examination and proportional remedies,” Bailey said. “Greater access to safe and affordable credit, better fair housing enforcement, preservation of anti-discrimination laws — including disparate impact — can play a role in eliminating homeownership gaps. Further, as the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are publicly debated, a renewed commitment to serve all creditworthy borrowers must be embraced.” Calvin Schermerhorn, a professor of history in Arizona State University’s School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies and author of “The Business of Slavery and the Rise of American Capitalism, 18151860,” holds similar views to those expressed by Bailey. In a recent Washington Post op-ed column, Schermerhorn addressed the historic disparities that Black America continues to suffer. “One-fifth of African American families have a net worth of $0 or below; 75 % have less than $10,000 for retirement,” Schermerhorn wrote. “The enduring barriers to black economic equality are structural rather than individual. … Escalators into the middle class have slowed and stalled, and the rung of the economic ladder one starts on is most likely where one will end up.” On the same day as the Harvard report’s release, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that establishes a new advisory body that will be led by HUD Secretary Ben Carson. A total of eight federal agencies will work with state and local government officials to remove “bur-

densome governmental regulations” affecting affordable housing. “Increasing the supply of housing by removing overly burdensome rules and regulations will reduce housing costs, boost economic growth, and provide more Americans with opportunities for economic mobility,” Carson said. If Carson means that local zoning rules favor single-family homes over multi-family developments is a fundamental public policy flaw, he may be on to something. However this focus misses the crux of the affordable housing crisis: Wages are not rising in line with increasing housing costs. And now, after the housing industry continues to cater to more affluent consumers, while many older adults choose to age in place, the market has very little to offer those who want their own American dream, including some who are anxiously awaiting the chance to form their own households. Builders have historically, not just of late, complained about the time it takes to secure permits or the series of inspections that must be approved during construction and before properties can be listed for sale. What is missing from this new initiative is a solution to the financial challenges that average people face. It was scant regulation and regulatory voids that enabled risky mortgage products with questionable terms that took our national economy to the brink of financial collapse with worldwide effects. Taxpayer dollars to rescue financiers while many unnecessary foreclosures stripped away home equity and wealth from working families. Time will tell whether new advisers and proposals remember the lessons from the Great Recession. WI

HAY from Page 27

should receive. But that decision should be based on strong, definitive vaccination requirements from the CDC, which serve as important guideposts for both doctors and patients. We have seen the impact of lax

vaccinations in the current measles outbreak. Why repeat that mistake with our seniors? The CDC should make this preventive health care decision clear by maintaining its current vaccination requirements for pneumococcal disease. WI

CHRISTOPHER from Page 27

for our children, one honoring and embracing all of them. We can heal our perceived divides; share authentic memories and listen to one another, forging relationships of mutual understanding, trust and respect. We can leverage these new bonds to meld division and separation into the “Beloved Community” envisioned by Dr. Martin Luther King. Working together, communities are capable of creating affordable housing, employing equitably, educating and caring for all. Laws and policies need to redress inequities created by centuries of adhering to a human hierarchy. A compassionate, united and thoughtful people can create an au-

thentic and expansive form of democracy that is poised to generate a far more fair and equitable economy; rather than continuing to increase wealth and income divides. This change in our core belief and perception, in our way of seeing and willingness to relate to and with one another is America’s unfinished business. The persistence of blackface, Klansmen (with and without hoods), racial, anti-Semitic, gender and xenophobic violence are symptoms of the deeper pathology of having embraced human hierarchy as a way of life. Let us take this moment to begin the true journey of healing that our future demands. WI

$177,400. * This rise in home prices is also the seventh straight year that median household incomes have failed to keep pace in 85 of the nation’s largest 100 markets. * Nearly $52,000 would be required to make a 20% down payment on a median priced home. Even if buyers opted for an FHA 3.5% down payment mortgage, more than $9,000 would be needed to pay it, closing costs, and related fees; * In rental housing, four million units of housing priced at $800 or less were lost between 2011 and 2019. Also, since 2010, renters now include consumers earning $75,000 or more. Families who already own their own homes, these findings signal that their investments are appreciating, growing in equity and wealth. But for those trying to make that important transition from renting to owning, it’s a very different outlook. As rental prices continue to soar and moderately priced apartments disappear from the marketplace, both prospective homeowners and current renters face a shrinking supply of affordable housing. When homeownership is possible, housing costs can be better contained with fixed-interest rate mortgages, tax credits, and eventual equity. Even so, the Harvard report finds that only 36% of all consumers could afford to buy their own home in 2018. With higher priced homes in 2019, the affordability challenge worsens. “It is equally noteworthy that once again this key report shares how consumers of color continue to face challenges in becoming homeowners, noted Nikitra Bailey, an EVP with

vaccines and other medications that they may need. Seniors may consult their doctors to determine whether, based on their personal medical history, they should be vaccinated and which vaccine they

ly tracing our genomic ancestry to common ancestors on the continent of Africa. Only at this point can we begin to envision a healed and shared future together as one America — not simply as red or blue — but with a shared vision of a truly reconstructed America that values all equally. No more susceptibility to manipulation through “dog whistle politics” and social media tricksters. No more deeply held racial resentments ripe for the picking by domestic and foreign enemies. Together, we can then create a new, more complete narrative. We can construct a new story of America

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